Village head in Odesa region pleads guilty to bribery

The Savransky District Court of Odesa Region has approved an agreement between the prosecutor and former Bakshany village head Petro Tarabanchuk on the latter's plea of guilty to bribery.

As stated in the court's verdict, he was convicted of taking a $1,000 bribe from a local resident for influencing a decision to lease a 15-hectare land plot.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, but his actual sentence was commuted to probation for three years.

On August 5, 2020 , law enforcement officers detained the head of one of the village councils of Savranskyi district, Odesa region, red-handed after receiving an illegal benefit.

According to the publication "Anti-Corruption Dimension," the man filed an official application for land allocation, and Tarabanchuk attached a resolution to it "for consideration by the session" and promised to accompany the process. After that, the document was registered at the village council office, and on June 2, the session decided to lease the land for 49 years.

On July 31, 2020, the head of the village council, Petro Tarabanchuk, contacted the applicant again and said that the decision of the session was ready, but he would agree to hand it over only after receiving the promised monetary reward. The meeting was scheduled for August 4 at the village council building.

The next day, on August 5, the prosecutor's office notified the village head that he was suspected of receiving an unlawful benefit by an official. The suspect was removed from office and placed under round-the-clock house arrest.

The case began to be considered in court in May 2021. The verdict was reached in July 2025. This crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Кирило Бойко