Foreigner tried to bribe SBU officer in Odesa after pro-Russian posts

Police officers detained a 30-year-old citizen of a neighboring state living in Odesa after a statement by a Security Service of Ukraine officer that the foreigner had tried to bribe him.

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, the SBU officer exposed the foreigner for possible dissemination of posts and publications on social media that justify the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and recognize it as legitimate.

"Realizing the negative consequences, the man offered the SBU officer an illegal benefit of $1,500 to turn a blind eye and not register a criminal offense," the National Police said.

The SBU officer immediately informed his superiors. The crime was documented - the foreigner was detained in the center of Odesa, where he made an appointment with a law enforcement officer to hand over the promised money, saying that he would come with another person, currently unidentified, who was supposed to help solve the problem.

Investigators seized the money handed over to the SBU officer as material evidence, as well as the detainee's cell phones with important information for the investigation, and informed the detainee of suspicion of offering an official an undue advantage. If found guilty, the foreigner faces imprisonment for a term of four to eight years with or without confiscation of property, but the court has now imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 454,200.

In June, law enforcement officers detained a border guard inspector in Odesa region on suspicion of providing an unlawful benefit to an official.

Кирило Бойко