Ukrainian officials detained for alleged bribery scheme

Officials from Ukraine’s State Labor Service have been apprehended for allegedly demanding a bribe of half a million hryvnias ($13.3 thousand) to avoid conducting an unscheduled inspection of a business, the Prosecutor General Office reported on Telegram on Feb. 9.

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The chief and department head of one of the interregional departments of the State Labor Service, along with two intermediaries, were exposed for soliciting and receiving an undue benefit. The officials could face up to ten years in prison.

The officials orchestrated artificial conditions to prompt an unscheduled inspection of a private enterprise, the investigation said. Then they informed the manager that the inspection could be avoided for a sum of half a million hryvnias ($13.3 thousand). To achieve this, the manager was required to enter into a fictitious contract for the purchase of goods from a specific organization and transfer the specified amount to its account.

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Law enforcement authorities apprehended the officials after the bribe was received. Procedural actions are currently underway, and efforts are being made to establish the involvement of other individuals in the crime.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine