Former First Deputy Head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department, Bohdan Lozyan, was given a suspended sentence for participating in a large-scale scheme to extort money from future hunters. The corresponding decision was made by the Primorsky District Court of Odessa.
As it turned out, the official was one of the key figures in the corruption group organized by the head of the department, Oleg Tkach. From July 2024 to February 2025, officials systematically demanded bribes from candidates for obtaining a hunter's license and a control card for recording game caught. The amount of illegal gain was from 2 to 2.5 thousand hryvnias for "guaranteed" passing the exam and issuing documents.
Bohdan Lozyan, who headed the examination commission, performed important roles — approving the composition of the commission, coordinating the actions of the executors, signing documents, distributing bribes, and using messengers to avoid detection.
On June 27, 2025, Lozyan pleaded guilty and reached a plea agreement with the investigation. He provided incriminating testimony against his accomplices, which allowed the prosecution to move forward with the case.
The court found Lozyan guilty under Part 3 of Article 28 and Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obtaining unlawful benefit by an organized group), but imposed a suspended sentence of 3 years with a probationary period. Confiscation of property was not applied.
Thus, another participant in the corruption scheme avoided prison, but remained with a criminal record and under supervision. The investigation into the other defendants is ongoing.
