Police captain from Odesa is under investigation for extortion from Pryvoz traders

A police captain from Odesa is under suspicion of organizing a systematic bribery scheme through which entrepreneurs at the Privoz market paid to trade without hindrance. He was detained after handing over the last bribe.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa.

According to the investigation, at the end of April 2025, the captain of Police Department No. 2 of the Odesa District Police Department No. 1 of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, together with a civilian intermediary who had contacts with entrepreneurs on the territory of the Privoz market in Odesa, developed a scheme for systematic bribery.

The plan was for entrepreneurs who traded in the territory controlled by Police Department No. 2 of the Main Department of the National Police to pay money for "not obstructing" their activities and not bringing them to administrative responsibility.

According to the case file, from April to November 2025, the suspect and his accomplice received more than UAH 16,600 from the entrepreneurs. Every day, the intermediary collected from 50 to 500 hryvnias from each trader and handed them over to the police captain, allowing him to control who was allowed to trade on the spontaneous market and at what time.

In November 2025, the intermediary handed over UAH 2,200 to the suspect, after which they were detained by the State Bureau of Investigation and the money was seized.

In March 2026, the police captain was notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - receiving a bribe by an official for not acting in the interests of those who give a bribe, committed by prior conspiracy and combined with extortion.

The court granted the investigation's request and sent the man to the Odesa pre-trial detention center until May 6, 2026. The judge also set bail at UAH 266,240. The suspect and his defense lawyer objected to the detention, claiming that the risks were not proven and that they were ready to post bail.

Also in Odesa, the court approved the agreement between the former head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of the State Forestry Agency, Oleh Tkach, and the prosecutor. The official extorted money from the Ukrainian Society of Hunters and Fishermen for assistance in increasing the territory of their hunting grounds by 13,000 hectares.

Анна Бальчінос