Received a bribe by mail: court fines official of Odesa department of the State Consumer Service

The Kropyvnytskyi Court of Appeal upheld the verdict against the chief specialist of the Odesa Border Inspection Control Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

As noted in the court' s verdict, the Ulyanovsk District Court of Kirovohrad Oblast had previously sentenced the official to a fine of three thousand tax-free minimum incomes, which is UAH 51,000.

However, the prosecutor appealed the verdict and the Court of Appeal increased the fine to UAH 68,000. In 2023, the convict was appointed chief specialist of the Odesa Border Inspection Control Department serving the territory of Odesa region, and he decided to receive bribes from people who applied to the Kropyvnytskyi Border Inspection Control Department, which he had previously headed, for unlawful influence on the decision-making of officials of this border control department.

In October 2023, Polfa LLC from Kirovohrad region needed to obtain an international veterinary certificate for raw materials of animal origin exported from Ukraine in order to export goods abroad. The company's representative contacted the Southern Interregional Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection at the State Border. The chief specialist learned about this and called Polfa's representative and said that Polfa would face difficulties during customs clearance: the batch of goods would be completely unloaded from the containers, and additional sampling of materials for testing would be carried out.

However, he can influence and prevent the officials who will carry out these measures and further assist in the smooth customs clearance of goods. After the cargo was cleared at customs, the chief specialist called the company's representative again and stated that he had facilitated the process and was now expecting to receive an undue benefit in the amount of USD 100 for the issuance of one international veterinary certificate and UAH 30,000 quarterly.

Later, in December 2023, he received an envelope with money at a Nova Poshta branch. Later, in January 2024, he decided to receive the money by mail again and was detained.

Кирило Бойко