In Kyiv, the Deputy Minister of Energy was exposed for receiving a $500 000 bribe. For this money, he promised to allow the removal of mining equipment from the front-line area.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The deputy head of the Ministry of Energy was arrested in Kyiv while he was receiving part of the bribe.
The law enforcement officers do not mention the name of the suspect, but the MP from the "Voice" faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak, as well as a number of media, citing their sources in the authorities, report that it is Oleksandr Hale.
For half a million dollars, the official promised the managers of the state-owned enterprises of the Lviv-Volyn coal basin to hand over mining equipment from the mines of the front-line region of the Donetsk region without hindrance.
It is about the unique and rare equipment of one of the state coal companies, which is located within the Pokrovsk direction — the hottest battles take place there, on the eastern front.
In the spring of this year, representatives of the industry turned to the Deputy Minister of Energy to obtain permission to evacuate equipment from the war zone and use it in the mines of the western region.
However, the official, who was obliged to keep the mining equipment, began to demand money for its removal.
He also involved three accomplices: a private energy trader, the head of an energy company from the Mykolaiv region, and the head of a mining company from Donetsk region — it was from this mining plant that they were to start removing the equipment after the organizer of the arrangement received part of the bribe.
The money was transferred through these accomplices, but it did not help the criminals — the law enforcement officers arrested the Deputy Minister of Energy and his three accomplices red-handed, after receiving part of the bribe.
All four detainees were informed of the suspicion of receiving a bribe by an employee (Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. Now the perpetrators are being given preventive measures.