Former tax officer in Odesa convicted for old bribe

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa found a former tax service employee guilty of extortion and receiving an unlawful benefit and sentenced him to five years in prison.

According to the court 's verdict, the man was also banned from holding positions in law enforcement agencies related to the exercise of organizational, administrative and power for a period of two years and confiscated all his property.

In July-August 2016, a senior operative for especially important cases of the department for detecting criminal offenses in the customs sphere learned about the activities of a newly created LLC importing goods into the territory of Ukraine and decided to impose a tribute on the company. He offered the entrepreneur to pay USD 50 per cargo, i.e. a container or truck that had been cleared by the LLC.

On October 4, 2016, at approximately 12:00 a.m., he received from the entrepreneur the previously agreed upon undue advantage in the amount of USD 1,750, which, according to the official exchange rate, was UAH 45,360 at the time, and another USD 1.3 thousand for 26 cargoes of the LLC. He was detained in October.

The defendant stated that the company director gave him the money as a thank you for his assistance to the leadership of the fiscal service, so that they would help him when something happened. Later, at the court hearing, the defendant did not deny his actions and admitted his guilt. He said that he took the money for communicating with the management about the loyalty of the companies that imported the goods. But he said that he could not influence customs in any way, and he could not register a criminal case himself. The case was considered for 10 years, and if the verdict is appealed in the Court of Appeal, the statute of limitations for the crime will expire and the official may avoid punishment.

Кирило Бойко