Deputy Energy Minister detained in Kyiv for taking half-million-dollar bribe – video, photo

A large-scale corruption scheme organised by a deputy energy minister has been uncovered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine with the assistance of the energy minister.

Source: SSU; Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO); Prosecutor General’s Office; Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement agencies

Details: As a result of comprehensive measures, a deputy energy minister has been detained in Kyiv for taking a bribe of half a million dollars.

Ukrainska Pravda have indicated that the deputy minister in question is Oleksandr Kheilo.

According to the investigation materials, in exchange for this amount, the official, using his authority, promised the heads of state enterprises in the Lviv-Volyn coal basin that mining equipment would be transferred without restriction from coal mines in a frontline area of Donetsk Oblast for their use.

The SSU noted that the equipment in question is unique and in short supply, and it belongs to a state coal company located in the hottest sector of the eastern front – Pokrovsk.

Industry representatives approached the deputy energy minister in the spring of this year, seeking to obtain permission to remove the equipment from the combat zone and use it in mines in the western region.

However, the official, whose duties included the preservation of mining equipment, began demanding money in exchange for its removal.

He enlisted three accomplices in this illegal activity: a private energy trader, the head of an energy company from Mykolaiv Oblast, and the manager of a mining company from Donetsk Oblast. It was from this mining company that the removal of the equipment was supposed to begin after the organiser had received part of the bribe.

The arrangement was that the money would be transferred in five instalments of US$100,000 at each meeting. The bribe was conveyed via the accomplices.

The Security Service of Ukraine documented each of the tranches in stages. As a result, law enforcement officers detained the Ministry of Energy official and his three accomplices, catching them red-handed when the third tranche of the bribe was received.

All four detainees have been served with a notice of suspicion with respect to accepting a proposal, promise, or receiving an improper benefit by a public official. 

The issue of which pre-trial restrictions should be applied to the detainees is currently being decided.

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