From contracts to bribes: how the double lease scheme worked in Pervomaisk

The lease of municipal property in Pervomaisk has turned into a shadowy scheme with a "subscription fee" of tens of thousands of hryvnias. The official was detained while receiving part of the bribe

This was reported by the press service of the National Police.

During the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers found that an entrepreneur who was looking for premises to expand her business of manufacturing promotional products had approached the director of a municipal enterprise of the Pervomaisk City Council.

PHOTO: mk.npu.gov.ua

Instead, the official put forward a condition: to sign a lease agreement without an auction, but for a "reward" of 80 thousand hryvnias, which were to be transferred in installments of 10 thousand per month.

The essence of the scheme was to enter fictitious data into the contract. The documents indicated a smaller area of the premises than the tenant actually used. Accordingly, the official rent was transferred to the account of the utility company in a reduced amount, and the entrepreneur had to transfer the difference to the director in cash.

PHOTO: mk.npu.gov.ua

Law enforcement officers documented the illegal activity and detained the official immediately after receiving part of the bribe. In particular, during the detention, law enforcement officers seized UAH 40 thousand handed over by the victim, as well as other evidence of the crime.

The operation was conducted by investigators of the regional police department jointly with operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police under the supervision of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

PHOTO: mk.npu.gov.ua

The official was served a notice of suspicion of bribery and arrested with the possibility of bail. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a ban on holding certain positions and confiscation of property. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Also in March, the head of one of the sectors of the Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Mykolaiv region was exposed for organizing a scheme to receive bribes from local farmers for re-registering agricultural machinery.

Анна Бальчінос