Former geocadastre official fined by Odesa court for bribery

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa found the deputy head of the fifth department of the Department for Ensuring the Implementation of State Policy in the Field of Land Relations of the State Geocadastre in Odesa Oblast guilty of abuse of influence.

According to the court' s verdict, in February, the official told an Odesa resident by phone that he would influence the deputies to get him a land plot in Odesa into private ownership, but it would cost $3,000.

The official planned to receive the money as a bribe for himself. In March, the man handed over the money to the official at the Klumba cafe, and he was detained.

The convict himself stated in court that he had received a call from an unfamiliar cell phone number, introducing himself as his friend, and asking for help in obtaining a decision from the Odesa City Council to grant permission to withdraw the land plot. During the meeting with the man, the official reviewed the documents, provided him with advice and offered him to pay USD 3 thousand to obtain the decision.

The judges took into account that the defendant had pleaded guilty to the criminal offense in full.

As a result, the official was sentenced to a fine of 7.5 thousand tax-free minimum incomes, which amounts to UAH 127.5 thousand to the state.

Earlier, the Primorskyi Court of Odesa approved a plea agreement between the driver of the training vessel unit of the Institute of Naval Forces of the National University "Odesa Maritime Academy" and the prosecutor regarding the bribe. He demanded the money for influencing unidentified officials of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to transfer a serviceman from a combat military unit to a rear military unit for further service. The court eventually sentenced him to UAH 170 thousand.

Кирило Бойко