A large-scale corruption scheme in the State Labor Service system has been exposed in Ukraine. According to the National Police, SBI officers and SSR operatives detained officials of the interregional department of the State Labor Service and the head of a private company who systematically received money for "solving issues" within their competence.
According to law enforcement officials, numerous cases of bribery have been documented. The amounts demanded by the suspects varied depending on the complexity of the request: from 1,500 hryvnias for fictitious training to 1,000 dollars for enterprises to evade responsibility or influence the investigation of accidents. Among those detained are the head of the interregional department, the head of a structural unit, his deputy, and the head of the company through which the “necessary” documents were issued.
The scheme covered several areas at once: processing permit documentation, avoiding sanctions for violating labor laws, issuing certificates without actual training, and legitimizing declarations of conformity of the material and technical base. The mediation of a private company allowed the participants of the scheme to consistently receive illegal benefits, and the fake documentation allowed them to avoid official procedures and liability.
During searches in three regions, law enforcement officers seized more than two million hryvnias in cash, including hryvnias and US dollars, as well as documentation and phones confirming illegal activities. After the detention, all those involved were informed of the suspicion. The officials are accused of accepting illegal benefits under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code, and the head of the company is accused of giving bribes under Part 3 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code.
The court chose preventive measures in the form of detention for all suspects with the right to post significant bail. The highest amount — over 2.9 million UAH — was set for the head of the interregional department. The head of the company was set bail of 400 thousand UAH.
Under the current articles of the Criminal Code, participants in the scheme face up to ten years in prison with confiscation of property.
