Odesa utility worker detained for bribe for beach business permit

Police detained an official of a utility company of the Odesa City Council on suspicion of corruption, allegedly demanding and receiving USD 2,700 for a permit to conduct business in the city's coastal zone.

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Odesa Oblast, the investigation found that an entrepreneur approached the chief engineer of the utility company with a question about obtaining permission to install temporary commercial structures on the coast. Instead, the official said that a bribe had to be paid for a positive decision. Otherwise, the installation of commercial facilities would be impossible.

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office clarified that it was the Odesa Coast utility company, and the businesswoman planned to work on Vidrada Beach.

The businessman was detained immediately after receiving the entire agreed amount. The police seized the money as material evidence.

Police investigators served the suspect a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years, with confiscation of property.

The court imposed on the suspect a measure of restraint in the form of detention with an alternative of bail in the amount of UAH 242,240.

Earlier in Odesa, the head of a department of the Peresypskyi District Administration of the Odesa City Council was detained on suspicion of allowing trade on one of the city's beaches in exchange for a USD 1,500 bribe. The suspect demanded money from a citizen for assistance in granting a permit to set up a retail outlet on Luzanivka beach in Odesa. In case of refusal, the official threatened to refuse to allow the retailer to locate there.

Кирило Бойко