An Odessa court acquitted a veterinary inspector in a bribery case

The Primorsky District Court of Odessa acquitted a former chief veterinary officer at a border inspection post who had been accused of accepting a bribe.

As noted in the court’s verdict, the inspector’s guilt was found to be unproven.

The case had been ongoing since 2018. According to the investigation, a freight forwarder from a company importing Irish-made animal feed into Ukraine approached the border veterinarian, but the inspector claimed to have found a number of deficiencies in the veterinary certificate and began demanding an additional veterinary certificate. The freight forwarder stated that providing an additional certificate was impossible, and then, according to the investigation, the inspector began demanding a bribe of $100 from the freight forwarder, which the latter paid, and later paid another $400. He was eventually arrested.

During the court hearing, the inspector did not admit guilt and explained that in 2018 he worked as a senior veterinary physician at the Odesa Regional Service for State Veterinary and Sanitary Control at the State Border and in Transportation. His duties included issuing veterinary certificates for imported cargo. He insisted that he had never once delayed the clearance of anyone’s cargo for money and had not accepted any bribes. He also pointed out numerous violations during the investigative proceedings and the collection of evidence. 

The court cited the testimony of a freight forwarder—who reported the demand for a bribe—as the prosecution’s key evidence; however, the judges found it to be contradictory and not supported by a sufficient body of other admissible evidence.

 Earlier, the Kyiv District Court of Odesa acquitted the heads of two companies who had been accused of inflating the cost of transporting equipment for substations and thereby embezzling budget funds.

Кирило Бойко