Village head from Odesa region caught on bribes

Sloboda village head Viktor Dotsulenko is accused of extortion and receiving $2.5 thousand for assistance in registering a land plot for a gas station.

This was reported by Antikorruption Vymir with reference to the case file in the court register.

In July, the court sent him to a pre-trial detention center with the possibility of bail of 1.5 million hryvnias. Judges, according to the publication, have already twice ruled to reduce his bail. The Kodymsky District Court of Odesa Region considered the extension and change of the preventive measure in the case of Viktor Dotsulenko, the head of Sloboda village.

He is accused of extorting and receiving a bribe for land within the village of Slobidka, Podil district, Odesa region. The case file states that between January and May 2025, Viktor Dotsulenko allegedly demanded money from a representative of Best Fuel LLC. This company approached the official in order to obtain a land plot for use to locate a gas filling station.

Initially, the executive committee of the Sloboda village council approved the company's permit to place a temporary structure for the gas station. However, for the next stage of approval - obtaining a passport of binding - the village head requested $2,500. Investigators believe that he explained to the Best Fuel representative that a positive decision could only be made if he received an undue benefit.

According to the investigation, in April, Viktor Dotsulenko received a bribe and handed over to the company's representative the passport of binding for the gas station approved by the executive committee. On May 1, the suspect was detained and notified of suspicion. Currently, the Kodymsky District Court has extended Dotsulenko's pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of release on bail in the amount of UAH 484,500. Although two months earlier, a judge of the Odesa Court of Appeal had already reduced the bail of the Sloboda village head from UAH 1 million 514 thousand to UAH 908.4 thousand.

According to the official website of the Sloboda village council, Viktor Dotsulenko has already paid the bail and left the pre-trial detention center.

Кирило Бойко