The State Bureau of Investigation and the Specialized Anti -Corruption Prosecutor's Office exposed a large -scale corruption scheme with the participation of representatives of the National Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General and Advocates. It is a $ 150,000 bribe, which was required by a businessman for termination of criminal prosecution and returning his property.
How the scheme was revealed
According to the investigation, the employee of the National Police Strategic Investigation Department Alexander Maslov promised the owner of a number of companies to solve his problems with the law for $ 150-180 thousand. According to him, the money was also received by the Senior Investigator of the National Police of the National Police Vyacheslav Potalap and the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General Andriy Gritsan.
Maslov guaranteed the entrepreneur to avoid searches, arrests and seizure of property. In July 2023, he met with the brother of the businessman and voiced the terms of the agreement. In March 2024, Maslov contacted the mediator three times through a lawyer, and in April received money and was detained.
Investigation Agreement and Conditional Sentence
After his arrest, Maslov pleaded guilty and concluded an agreement with the prosecutor's office. In February 2024, the court found him guilty of Part 4 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (receiving undue benefit) and appointed three years of a conventional term.
Interestingly, Maslov returned a pledge of 3 million UAH, which was made by Azovsky LLC. In exchange for a soft punishment, he agreed to provide evidence against Vyacheslav Potalapa and Andrew Gritsan.
Prosecutor under suspicion but in office
Despite the corruption scandal, Andriy Gritsan continues to work in the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to his declaration for 2024, he received:
- salary in the office of the Prosecutor General - UAH 1.24 million;
- income from the sale of property in April 2024;
- bought Jeep Renegade (2016) for 400 thousand UAH in 2023;
- Saves 100 thousand UAH and $ 5 thousand in cash.
Gritsan's declaration does not have any information about family members, although he uses an apartment in Kiev, owned by a woman with his name.
Despite the loud scandal, the Attorney General's office does not comment on the possible release of Gritsan. The case continues to investigate NABU and SAP.
