Ex-Commander in Kherson Charged with 1M ₴ Extortion Scheme

A former division commander of a military unit in the Kherson sector systematically extorted money from his subordinates. The amount of illegal extortion received by the official is at least one million hryvnias.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the offender actually "sold" vacations to servicemen and then concealed their absence from the command. In addition, he extorted money from the military, threatening them with punishment for allegedly violating official discipline. The subordinates who fell for the commander's bait paid him not only with money but also with services, bought him household and computer equipment, as well as things for children.

"According to operational data, in 2023-2024, the official "earned" almost a million hryvnias in this way," the SBI calculated.

Thanks to cooperation with the military, SBI officers exposed the offender. The official was detained in Mykolaiv and served a notice of suspicion of taking a bribe in a particularly large amount and abuse of power. The sanction of the articles provides for up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

As of today, the detainee has been chosen as a measure of restraint - custody with the possibility of bail in the amount of one million two hundred thousand hryvnias.

Earlier, law enforcement officers exposed a former deputy head of a village military administration who misappropriated humanitarian aid. In 2023, the official illegally took possession of power tools worth almost 64 thousand hryvnias. They were handed over to the administration to work under martial law, but the official used them for his own benefit.

The court recently imposed a pre-trial restraint on two officials suspected of extortion. One of them is the deputy head of the Kherson regional municipal emergency service. They demanded 10% of the contract amount, which amounted to UAH 199 thousand. The officials threatened the businessman that if he refused, he would not be able to continue his activities in Kherson and the region.

Олеся Ланцман