A wind power plant (WPP) was to be built in Odesa region with funding from a British investor. This “green” energy project, critically important due to damaged local infrastructure, faced obstruction because of the criminal greed of the local mayor. Entrepreneurs were compelled to pay a bribe for one of the necessary permits, which led to the official being charged with extortion.
This was reported by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. The arrest was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The suspect’s identity has not been disclosed by law enforcement. However, according to the publication “Ukrainska Pravda”, referencing its own source, the name mentioned is Vyacheslav Cherniavskyi, the mayor of Kiliya in Izmail district.
Either a bribe or blocked work
The implementation of the project depended on a permit to remove green plantings located along the access roads. It was at this stage of obtaining the permit that the city head decided to exercise his influence.
The mayor kept finding different reasons to block the WPP construction: lack of environmental inspectors, high workload of specialists, and later, issues with power supply in the city council.
“The company even provided the city council with three generators as charitable assistance to ensure uninterrupted work, but this did not help. The real reason for the delays was different,” the prosecutor general said.
In reality, the mayor wanted a bribe to issue the permit. Initially, during a meeting at a restaurant, the sum discussed was $30,000. Later, the “rate” increased to $35,000.
No cash-only cryptocurrency
The official received the money via a crypto-scheme, believing this would conceal the crime. However, within the criminal proceedings, law enforcement documented the entire transaction protocol.
Through an intermediary, the entrepreneurs received a code for an Odesa exchange office. There, the cash was converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to a designated electronic wallet.
First, the city mayor received a “deposit” of $10,000, after which the permit issuance process was unblocked. When the permit was ready, the remainder of the bribe was transferred by the entrepreneurs using a new code.
Actions of law enforcement
Together with the bribe of $35,000, the mayor of Kiliya was served a notice of suspicion for extortion and receiving an unlawful benefit on a particularly large scale. Liability for this offense is defined by Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
It is reported that the official has been detained. The prosecutor’s office intends to petition the court to impose a preventive measure and also to suspend the official from his duties.
“The cynicism of this story lies in the context. The wind power plant could really have helped people. And the person who should have been facilitating such projects instead blocked them and placed a price on their unblocking,” emphasized Ruslan Kravchenko.
EcoPolitic previously reported that due to the actions of the director of the Slavskoe subsidiary forestry enterprise “Halsillis” in Lviv region, nearly 19,000 trees were illegally felled. The resulting damage to the state exceeded 103 million UAH. The indictment against the official has already been submitted to court.
