An official from the Volyn Regional Council was caught taking bribes for emission permits

An official from the Volyn Regional Council was caught taking bribes for emission permits
Katerina Belousova

The official was taken under house arrest

In Volyn, law enforcement officers detained the head of the regional administration while receiving the last tranche of a bribe of 19,000 hryvnias for issuing a permit to emit pollutants into the atmosphere.

During August-October 2023, the official received a bribe from an entrepreneur three times in the total amount of 51 thousand hryvnias, the Office of the Prosecutor General reports.

It is noted that the official was informed of the suspicion of extorting and receiving an illegal benefit (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Receiving a bribe in a particularly large amount or by an official who occupies a particularly responsible position").

"The court chose a preventive measure for the official in the form of house arrest," the message reads.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Volodymyr Didukh, deputy director of the ecology department, was fired from the Khmelnytskyi regional state administration, who was convicted for bribery for assisting in the issuance of a permit for air emissions. Didukh agreed to pay a fine of 42,500 hryvnias for receiving a bribe.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, the police uncovered a corruption scheme of an official from the KMDA, who systematically demanded bribes for issuing permits for emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere and other permit documents.

Related
Suspended sentence and a fine: how a forester from Volyn was punished for illegal logging worth millions
Suspended sentence and a fine: how a forester from Volyn was punished for illegal logging worth millions

The man avoided a prison sentence thanks to a plea bargain and favourable character references

Billions for companies run by relatives and newly registered sole traders: who wins the tenders?
Billions for companies run by relatives and newly registered sole traders: who wins the tenders?

The winners of tenders worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias turn out to be shell companies

The community needs money: a village council chairman in Volyn is suspected of aiding and abetting illegal logging
The community needs money: a village council chairman in Volyn is suspected of aiding and abetting illegal logging

As a result of the official’s actions, over 4,200 trees were felled, causing losses of nearly 3 million hryvnias

Staff at the Medobory Nature Reserve organised the felling of trees themselves — State Bureau of Investigations
Staff at the Medobory Nature Reserve organised the felling of trees themselves — State Bureau of Investigations

The suspects used their professional knowledge of the valuable area to select logging sites and conceal the crime