SBU employees exposed on bribe-taking a leading specialist of (Chornomorsk) Black Sea Basin Division of the State Agency for Fisheries.

Allegedly, the official set up a scheme of money extortion from local fishermen for shielding them from criminal and administrative punishment for violation of fishing industry regulations.

The law enforcement documented the fact of USD 1,500 extortion by the official. The suspect was detained in the suburbs of Ochakiv City after receiving from a local resident the second part of “tranche” amounting to USD 800. The detention was conducted in accordance with the Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

The investigation upon the fact of taking a bribe (P. 3 Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) is ongoing to establish whether other officials were involved into the scheme.

The operation was conducted jointly with the investigators of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigations in Mykolaiv City under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Mykolaiv region.