Kherson department director's property seized for bribery on starlinks

In Mykolaiv, a court arrested the equipment of the director of the information technology department of the Kherson City Council. He was suspected of extorting money from an entrepreneur for the opportunity to cooperate with municipal institutions.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

Investigators believe that the official, taking advantage of his official position, forced the sole proprietor to pay regularly for further work with the structures subordinate to the city council. The entrepreneur maintained local networks, Starlink equipment, and provided email support.

According to the investigation, at the end of January 2026, the official allegedly announced a "tariff": UAH 2,500 for each network maintenance contract and UAH 7,000 for support of email services. In case of refusal, the entrepreneur, according to the case file, was threatened with termination of cooperation and blocking of new contracts.

After that, several Kherson municipal institutions entered into agreements with the entrepreneur. These included the city council's culture department, the library system, kindergartens No. 10 and No. 18, and the executive committee. The value of individual contracts exceeded UAH 65 thousand, and the contract for e-mail support reached UAH 96 thousand.

According to the case, in May, the official again demanded UAH 24 thousand. The entrepreneur, afraid of losing the contracts, transferred the money through an ATM to a bank card whose details he received on Telegram.

The same day, law enforcement officers detained the official. During the searches, they seized his laptops, phones, tablets, and hard drives. The court concluded that the equipment might contain evidence and arrested it.

The article under which the official was notified of suspicion provides for three to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

The court documents do not specify the name of the defendant, but according to the Kherson City Council, it is Ilya Zaruba, the director of the Information Technology Department.

The investigation also found that five contracts for the maintenance of Starlink terminals in kindergartens, a library, the executive committee, and the culture department were concluded under this scheme. To conceal the transaction, the money was allegedly transferred to the account of the official's partner.

Анна Бальчінос