Head of village council in Odesa region who was caught on bribes returns to work

Oleh Bilous, the head of the Oknya village council in Odesa region, who was detained two months ago on suspicion of taking a bribe, has returned to his duties.

This was reported by Pulse of Odesa Region.

In November 2024, law enforcement officers detained him while he was receiving UAH 50,000. According to the investigation, he extorted the money from an entrepreneur who had not paid rent for a land plot for years. The community leader allegedly promised to resolve the debt.

After Bilous was detained, he was notified of being suspected of bribery, and the court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 500,000. He was also temporarily suspended from office. At the time, it was reported that the official faced up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

However, in January 2025, Bilous became the head of the village council again. On January 22, he was spotted at an official mental health event organized by the regional administration. Oleh Bilous was representing his community.

Law enforcement officials who were investigating the bribery case have not commented on the situation.

Meanwhile, in Odesa region, a corruption scheme involving a former village head of a community in Bereziv district was exposed. The official entered into a contract with a construction company for the overhaul of a water supply system in one of the villages of the district. However, instead of controlling the work, he provided the contractor with an opportunity to receive illegal benefits.

Recently, the prosecutor's office brought a case against the mayor of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi , Vitaliy Hryzhdan, to court. He is accused of organizing extortion of property with threats of violence, which was carried out by a group of people by prior conspiracy.

In addition, Anatoliy Cherednychenko, the head of Serhiivka village, was served with a notice of suspicion on the facts of misappropriation of almost UAH 2.4 million of public funds, forgery and legalization (laundering) of property.

Ірина Глухова