The Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office has completed a pre-trial investigation and sent an indictment to the court against a former head of one of the departments of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (Derzhprodspozhyvsluzhba).
The individual is accused of demanding and accepting unlawful benefits for influencing the decisions of state officials authorized to perform government functions, combined with extortion (Part 3, Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Case Details
The investigation revealed that while serving as a department head, the accused demanded a monthly payment of $3,000 from a company representative.
In return, he promised to influence his colleagues to ensure that they would not create artificial obstacles for the company’s operations, particularly during state phytosanitary procedures.
The suspect was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine immediately after receiving part of the bribe. He has since been dismissed from his position.
The case was investigated by the Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigations in Lviv.
Note: Under Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime until proven guilty by a court ruling.