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Road corruption: kickback scheme involving city council deputy and officials exposed in Poltava (PHOTOS)

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have uncovered a corruption scheme involving road repairs in the Poltava region. Officials from the Poltava City Council's Housing and Communal Services Department, in collusion with a city council deputy, set up a system to extract bribes from contractors.

According to the investigation, the officials demanded a 10% kickback from companies on contracts for the maintenance and routine repair of local roads. The total amount of collected funds exceeds UAH 7.7 million.

The suspects are:

  • a Poltava City Council deputy — Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
  • a Poltava City Council official — Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
  • two representatives of the contracting companies — Part 3, Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

By a ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court, the deputy has been remanded in custody as a preventive measure, with bail set at UAH 33.28 million.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.

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