OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:22 PM – Monday, August 12, 2024
Ukraine has detained one of its four deputy energy ministers and three others after they were caught receiving a $500,000 bribe.
On Monday, anti-graft police stated that the suspects were caught “red-handed” receiving the bribe.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) made an announcement on Telegram stating that the agency, along with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the assistance of the Minister of Energy, had exposed a “large scale” corruption scheme organized by a deputy minister and three accomplices.
Even though the statement did not name the deputy, the government stated that Oleksandr Kheilo had been dismissed from his post. Additionally, his profile had been removed from the Ministry of Energy’s website.
The scheme allegedly involved an independent energy trader, the head of an energy company in Mykolaiv Oblast, and the head of a mining company in Donetsk Oblast in his plan.
The suspects devised a scheme to smuggle mining equipment from the Donetsk region that belonged to a state-owned coal mining company.
The suspects allegedly asked for $500,000 in exchange for smuggling the equipment, according to Ukrainian prosecutors.
“For this amount, the official, exploiting his authority, promised the heads of state-owned enterprises in the Lviv-Volyn coal basin to facilitate the unimpeded transfer of mining equipment from frontline areas in Donbas. This equipment, owned by one of the state coal companies, is located in Pokrovsk, one of the most critical regions on the eastern front,” the SSU said.
They also stated that all four suspects have been charged with receiving a bribe and are facing up to 12 years in prison.
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