Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police, exposed and detained officials who organized a profitable scheme to extort bribes from entrepreneurs. The center of the transaction was the district department of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection in the Poltava region.
According to the SBI, Yuriy Shnit, head of the Lubny District Administration, and Maryna Svydynyuk, accountant of the Pyriatyn State Veterinary Hospital, systematically received illegal benefits under the guise of official inspections.
One of the recorded episodes involved a farmer who was forced to pay 180,000 hryvnias for “positive conclusions” from preventive animal quarantine. He was threatened with fines and the blocking of his activities.
To hide the traces of bribes, officials created a number of firms that formally provided consulting services. The money was transferred to their accounts, after which it was stored in a bank safe. During a search, law enforcement officers seized foreign currency cash equivalent to about 4 million hryvnias from it.
Yuriy Shnit has already been informed of suspicion of extortion and receiving illegal benefits (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and Maryna Svydynyuk - of aiding and abetting (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Both face up to 10 years in prison. The issue of detention and removal from office is currently being resolved.
Also, according to journalists, on June 30, searches were conducted at the home of Ivan Klymas, head of the regional department of food safety and veterinary medicine, but he was not charged. The investigation is ongoing.
