The mayor of one of the towns in Izmail district in Odesa region is suspected of soliciting and receiving an unlawful benefit of US$35,000 in return for permission to build a wind power plant during wartime. This was reported by the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
A Ukrainian company together with a British investor planned to build a wind power plant in Odesa region to provide the area with alternative energy amid constant Russian strikes on critical infrastructure. To implement the project, they needed a permit to remove green plantings along the access roads.
According to the investigation, at the stage of approving this permit the mayor began to deliberately drag out the process, initially citing the absence of environmental inspectors, then the workload of specialist staff and problems with power supply at the town council. The entrepreneurs donated three generators to the council as charitable aid to ensure uninterrupted operations, but this did not speed up the paperwork.
During a meeting in a restaurant, the official, according to investigators, named the amount of the unlawful benefit – initially US$30,000 for signing the documents and giving the “green light” for construction, and later increased his demands to US$35,000. Law enforcement officers documented the subsequent transfer of funds within the framework of the criminal proceedings.
To conceal receipt of the money, the mayor, as established by investigators, used a cryptocurrency scheme. Through an intermediary, the entrepreneurs were given a code for an Odesa exchange office, where the cash was converted into cryptocurrency and credited to a specified electronic wallet. After the first tranche of US$10,000, the official confirmed receipt of the funds and stepped up the process of issuing the permit. When the document was ready, the entrepreneurs were given another code to transfer the remaining US$25,000 using the same scheme.
In total, according to the investigation, the official received US$35,000, after which he was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Currently, under the procedural guidance of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, he has been notified of suspicion of soliciting and receiving an unlawful benefit in an especially large amount under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The prosecutor’s office is preparing a motion to the court for a preventive measure and for the official to be suspended from his post, and the investigation is ongoing.