Bribe collector from potential hunters in Odesa region avoids prison

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor of the Bilyaevsky District Prosecutor's Office and Bohdan Lozian, former deputy head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of the State Forestry Agency, on the latter's guilty plea to bribery.

According to the court' s verdict, Bohdan Lozian's six-year prison sentence with disqualification to hold positions related to the exercise of governmental functions for three years without confiscation of property was replaced by a three-year probationary period.

Bohdan Lozian was detained in February 2025, along with his boss and another employee of the Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department.

Investigators proved that in early 2024, the head of the interregional department, in collusion with his deputy and another subordinate, put in place a "stream" of extortion from those wishing to take the exam and obtain a hunting license in Odesa. The authority of the department covered Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions.

Officials forced members of the examination committee to take a fee from applicants for passing the exam. In case of refusal, they threatened employees with dismissal. It cost from 2 to 4 thousand hryvnias to get a certificate.

According to intelligence, during the period of the scheme, the officials managed to earn more than a million hryvnias by issuing 500 hunting licenses.

On July 14, the State Bureau of Investigation completed the pre-trial investigation of the case and sent the indictment to court.

Meanwhile, an inspector of the Preventive Activities Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast was served a notice of suspicion of extortion and receipt of an unlawful benefit. In return for a weekly fee of USD 100 per car, the police officer promised not to impede their movement. In particular, he guaranteed to coordinate the lists of vehicles with the management, warn about the location of checkpoints and patrols, and influence his colleagues in case of a stop.

Кирило Бойко