Head of village council in Odesa region suspended from office on suspicion of bribery

The court removed Viktor Dotsulenko, the head of the Sloboda village council, from office. At the same time, he was allowed to continue performing his duties and his bail was reduced.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Kodymsky District Court of Odesa Oblast.

The court considered the motion of the Podil District Prosecutor's Office to extend the official's duties and remove him from office. Viktor Dotsulenko was the head of the village council.

The official is suspected of extortion and receiving 2.5 thousand dollars. According to investigators, between January and May 2025, he allegedly extorted money from a representative of Best Fuel, who applied for a land plot to build a gas station.

Initially, the executive committee of the Sloboda village council approved the company's permission to install a temporary structure, but for the next stage of approval - obtaining a passport of binding - the village head requested $2,500, explaining that a positive decision was possible only after a bribe. In April 2025, Dotsulenko received the money and handed over the passport of attachment approved by the executive committee. On May 1, he was detained and notified of suspicion.

The court granted the prosecutor's motion and extended his duties for two months, including appearing in court when summoned, a ban on communicating with witnesses, and notification of a change of residence. The suspension from office was also extended until February 15, 2026.

In addition, the court granted the motion of the suspect's lawyer and reduced the bail to UAH 454,200. Previously, the court has twice ruled to reduce bail.

The court also found Olena Dumanska, the former head of Oleksandrivka village council, guilty of corruption. The official demanded and received a UAH 67,000 bribe from a contractor for approving design estimates and signing certificates of completion for the repair of the water supply network in the village.

Анна Бальчінос