A large-scale corruption scheme operating in the sphere of local road repairs has been uncovered in the Poltava region. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have established that officials and a local deputy systematically extorted money from contractors.
The "Roads" Scheme
The investigation revealed that employees of the Housing and Utilities Department of the Poltava City Council acted in collusion with a deputy. Their goal was to obtain illegal income from companies engaged in the maintenance and current repair of the road network.
According to law enforcement data, the suspects demanded a fixed percentage — 10% of the amount of each contract signed. During the operation of this scheme, the officials managed to illegally appropriate more than 7.7 million hryvnias.
Preventive Measures and Investigation
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has already selected a preventive measure for the deputy involved in the extortion. The court ordered his detention with the right to post a bail of 33.28 million hryvnias.
Investigators continue to work to identify the circle of individuals involved in this corruption network and to reveal all possible participants.
Context of the Anti-Corruption Struggle
The exposure in Poltava comes against the backdrop of intensified work by law enforcement agencies across the country. Previously, NABU and SAPO conducted large-scale searches of military medical commission doctors in 16 regions of Ukraine. Inspectors checked for undeclared property among the specialists, including real estate, vehicles, and large sums of cash.
In addition, anti-corruption bodies exposed a scheme involving the extortion of a bribe amounting to one million dollars during the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles for the State Border Guard Service.