The Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General dismantled a large-scale illegal scheme in Kharkiv region, organized by the head of a branch of a major state-owned enterprise and the head of the local branch of a well-known political party.

The politician acted in collusion with the head of the interregional office of the state-owned enterprise Forests of Ukraine, his subordinate, and an intermediary.

As the investigation established, the participants in the scheme took bribes from entrepreneurs who won public auctions for the purchase of industrial timber from the state forestry enterprise.

For the illicit gains, the perpetrators sold high-quality timber to businessmen instead of lumber specified in the terms of the open tenders.

The investigation documented that the perpetrators demanded UAH 1.3 million (USD 30,000) from a businessman for the shipment of nearly 200 cubic meters of valuable timber species.

To conceal the crime, officials of the state forestry enterprise entered false information into the reporting documentation.

The SSU detained all the organizers of the scheme red-handed after the suspects received the final portion of the bribe.

Mobile phones and documents containing evidence of the crime were seized during the searches.

SSU investigators have notified the detainees of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 191.5 (appropriation, embezzlement, or acquisition of property through abuse of official position);
• 368.3 (acceptance of an offer, promise, or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public official).

The suspects are in custody and face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.