Case on attempted bribery of Chornomorsk port director sent to court

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have sent to court a case regarding an attempt to obtain an illegal benefit for influencing the director of the Chornomorsk port to make a decision in the interests of a private company.

This was reported by the NABU press service.

According to the investigation, the entrepreneur, in collusion with the head of the legal support service of the Chornomorsk port and a former freelance advisor to the director, offered the company's CEO UAH 12 million. In exchange for this amount, they promised to ensure that the port and the company would enter into an agreement on the assignment of the right to claim the debt from the private company in its favor.

The money was to be transferred to another company's account under the pretext of a financial and business transaction. The participants in the crime were notified of suspicion in May 2024.

The head of the port's legal support service and a former freelance advisor to the port director were convicted on the basis of plea agreements. The accused businessman is also a party to another criminal proceeding, in which he entered into a plea agreement with the investigation in April 2025.

Under the terms of the agreement, he transferred UAH 7 million to the account of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, UAH 8 million and six cars. The businessman also has to transfer to the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets a land plot and a house with a total area of 144 square meters in Odesa.

Law enforcement officers established that two employees of the State Enterprise "Chornomorsk", one of whom is the head of the legal support service and the other is a former advisor to the director, in October 2020 offered the director to influence the port director for UAH 12 million to enter into an agreement on the assignment of the right of claim to a private enterprise.

The money was to be transferred to the account of another private company whose director was involved in the crime, disguising the payment as a financial and business transaction.

Among the suspects:

• Head of the legal support service of the State Enterprise "MTP "Chornomorsk",
• a former freelance adviser to the director of the SE MTP Chornomorsk on legal and economic issues,
• Director of a private enterprise (positions indicated at the time of the crime).

The actions of the suspects are classified as abuse of influence under Part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They face imprisonment for up to 5 years.

Кирило Бойко