Mykolaiv resident arrested for attempted bribery of police officer

A Mykolaiv court remanded in custody a resident of Voznesenskyi district suspected of trying to bribe an investigator. The man allegedly offered money for the return of a car seized in a case of illegal tree felling.

This was reported by the press service of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

In Mykolaiv, a preventive measure was imposed on a resident of Voznesensky district, who is suspected of trying to bribe an investigator. The decision was made by investigating judge of the Central District Court Halyna Podzigun.

According to the investigation, in June 2025, the man, along with other persons, illegally cut down 82 trees in the Moldovan tract of local importance. As part of this proceeding, the GAZ 33023 car he was using was seized.

In August, the suspect approached the investigator with a proposal to transfer 40 thousand hryvnias for the release of the arrest and return of the car. In September, he provided the investigator with an undue benefit of 800 euros, after which he was detained by law enforcement.

At the court hearing, the prosecutor supported the request for detention. The defense lawyer emphasized that the suspicion was unfounded, and the man himself asked for house arrest.

The court decided to take the suspect into custody with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 181,680.

In June, a court in Pervomaisk ruled to return to the convict more than 300 oak and maple trunks seized during a search in a case of illegal logging. The seizure of the wood was lifted because its status as material evidence was not determined after the verdict. The convict's lawyer insisted that part of the seized property (218 oak and 114 maple trunks) should be returned to the owner, as the court had not established the grounds for confiscation. The prosecutor did not object to this.

At the same time, at the beginning of the year, a group of people who made money from illegal logging was exposed in Mykolaiv region. Three men aged 24 to 46 cut down oak, ash, maple, and acacia trees and sold the wood online for profit. They face up to seven years in prison for such actions.

Анна Бальчінос