No money, no kiosk: a city council official was caught taking a bribe in Odesa region
In the Odesa region, law enforcement officers have notified a corruption suspicion against an official of one of the departments of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City Council.
According to the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the woman, who is also a city council deputy, is charged with extortion and receiving an unlawful benefit (Part 3, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, in February of this year, an entrepreneur applied to the local government body to obtain a permit for placing a small architectural form (kiosk).
She planned to trade food products, beverages, and cigarettes.
The official responsible for processing the permit documentation and issuing the temporary structure attachment passports demanded $1000 USD for assistance in processing the documents. At the same time, she noted that without this, the procedure would be delayed for a long time," the prosecutor’s office stated.
Subsequently, she repeatedly called the applicant, reminding her about the need to pay for the "services." Not receiving the desired funds, after a few weeks, the city council representative sent a photo of the document refusing to issue the documentation via WhatsApp.
During another call, she suggested submitting the application again and implied that a positive decision was possible only after the agreed sum was handed over.
"Realizing that trading by other means would be impossible, the woman was forced to agree to the illegal demands.
After receiving the agreed amount in her office, the official handed over the ready passport," the prosecutor’s office added.
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