On Sep. 1, the National Police of Ukraine announced that they uncovered a $111,000 (Hr 3 million) corruption scheme allegedly masterminded by officials at Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state-owned railway operator.
Three people have been arrested: A manager and an engineer from the manufacturing department of Ukrzaliznytsia’s Konotop track section in the northern province of Sumy, and their alleged accomplice, a director of a private company.
The announcement was made by the police force on the website of the Interior Ministry.
“Thanks to timely action, the money was placed under arrest, thus avoiding the loss of government funds,” it said.
The three defendants have been charged with falsifying official documents to charge Ukrzaliznytsia inflated prices for repair works, and face prison sentences of up to twelve years if found guilty.
This is the latest in a long line of corruption scandals at the state-owned operator, which presides over nearly 20,000 kilometers of railways, the 14th largest network in the world.
In May 2021, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) charged three people with involvement in a graft scheme which siphoned $3.8 million out of Ukrzaliznytsia by selling the company diesel fuel at a price inflated by 10%.
In total, between 2019 and 2021, the SSU exposed corruption schemes worth over $37 million at the state-owned railway.
