The SSU continues to cleanse its own ranks: the SSU Internal Security Department exposed a corrupt officer in the SSU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv region. As a result of a joint special operation of the SSU and the SBI, the suspect was detained ‘red-handed’ when he received USD 30,000 as the second tranche of a bribe for ‘solving the issue’ in one of the criminal proceedings.

According to the investigation, the officer extorted USD 150,000 from a private entrepreneur. For this sum, he promised to supposedly return the seized property, which served as evidence in one of the proceedings, and close the case. At the same time, he had nothing to do with this proceeding and could not influence the investigation and, hence, was actually engaged in fraud.

The offender was detained after receiving another part of the ‘bribe’.

Under the procedural oversight of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the detainee has been served a notice of suspicion of fraud (Article 190 of the CCU). Court is to decide on the measure of restraint.

As the SSU Acting Head Vasyl Maliuk recently noted, cleansing of the SSU is now a major priority for the Service.

‘The Service is self-cleansing. It is extremely important, especially during a war. That’s why, we are doing everything we can for this. Today, we find all the shameful phenomena in the Service itself and localize them. All personnel feel it, the state leadership knows about it, and, I hope, the people of Ukraine feel it too,’ Vasyl Maliuk highlighted in a recent interview to Interfax-Ukraine.