An Odessa Railway official was arrested for accepting a bribe to connect a property to the power grid

An attempt to profit from connecting to the power grid led to criminal charges against an Odesa Railway official. According to the investigation, the man demanded $1,000 in exchange for facilitating the approval of documents and the commissioning of a power line.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police in the Odesa region. 

In Odesa, law enforcement officers detained the deputy head of one of the departments of the regional branch “Odesa Railway” of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia,” who is suspected of abuse of influence.

According to the police, the official was approached by the owner of a non-residential building who wanted to connect the property to the railway’s power grid. The official helped prepare and submit the necessaryapplication via the “Ukrzaliznytsia” website, after which the client received the technical specifications for further design of the connection.

Investigators believe that the official subsequently offered, in exchange for a fee, to influence employees of the power supply service during the approval of the project documentation, as well as to facilitate the commissioning of the line and the actual connection of the property to the grid.

He quoted a price of 1,000 U.S. dollars for his services. Law enforcement officers detained the man at a gas station in Odesa immediately after he received the money.

He was notified of the charges against him. The penalty under this article provides for up to eight years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The court remanded the suspect in custody, with the option of posting bail of nearly one million hryvnias. According to the investigation, he has already taken advantage of this option. The pretrial investigation is ongoing.

Also in the Odesa region, the director of a municipal enterprise and his deputy will stand trial on charges of extorting bribes from a businessman. According to investigators, the officials demanded regular “kickbacks” in exchange for the opportunity to provide sewage treatment services.

Анна Бальчінос