Deputy energy minister caught on $500K bribe

That’s according to the SBU press office, Ukrinform reports.

"The SBU and NABU, with the assistance of the Minister of Energy of Ukraine, exposed a large-scale corruption scheme set up by his deputy. As a result of a complex operation, the deputy head of the Ministry of Energy was detained in Kyiv over a bribe of half a million dollars," the statement reads.

The SBU also notes that for this sum, the official promised the heads of state-owned enterprises in the Lviv-Volyn coal basin to ensure unhindered transfer of mining equipment from the mines located in the front-line area of Donetsk region.

This is about unique and high-demand equipment from one of the state-owned coal companies, which is located in the Pokrovsk area, which is currently the “hottest” frontline axis.

"This spring, industry representatives appealed to the Deputy Minister of Energy for obtaining permission to evacuate equipment from the combat zone and use it in the mines located in the western region. However, the official, whose duties included the preservation of the mining equipment, demanded money for its removal. He involved three accomplices in the illegal scheme: a private energy trader, head of an energy company from Mykolaiv region, and chief of a mining enterprise from Donetsk region. It was from this mining plant that the equipment was set to be removed once the mastermind of the scheme received his part of the bribe," the SBU said in a statement.

Money was being transferred through accomplices but SBU operatives documented each of the "tranches" conducted in stages. And as a result, law enforcers detained the deputy minister and three of his accomplices upon receiving part of the bribe.

Currently, all four detainees have charged under Art. 368 Part 4 of the Criminal Code (acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an illegal benefit by an official).

Perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property if found guilty in court.

As reported, on August 8, the Security Service exposed a corruption scheme built up at the Odesa Customs, masterminded by a chief state inspector. According to the inquiry, the suspect set up a scheme of systematically extorting bribes for the unhindered movement of goods across the customs border. To this end, he engaged a colleague from the neighboring country, who acted as an intermediary in "negotiations" with importers and transferring bribes. The operatives detained both suspects upon receiving a bribe in the amount of $5,000 for assistance in importing a batch of components for mobile devices.