Mykhailo Halaiko, the head of Mykolaiv International Airport, was caught offering a Hr 700,000 bribe to Oleksii Savchenko, the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast, prosecutors say. Halaiko was arrested by the National Police of Ukraine and Mykolayiv Oblast prosecutors late on the night of Dec. 28.
If found guilty, the airport head faces several years in prison. The Mykolaiv Oblast governor appointed Halaiko as head of Mykolaiv airport in February.
The Kyiv Post didn’t reach Halaiko for a comment.
According to Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s website, the Hr 700,000 bribe was a part of a Hr 2.5 million deal offered by Halaiko for an extension of his employment contract. The governor refused to take the bribe, a report on the website reads.
On his page on Facebook, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko wrote that Halaiko had been arrested at the Mykolaiv Oblast governor’s office.
After being arrested, the Head of Mykolaiv airport was taken to a temporary detention facility.
Mykolayiv Oblast Prosecutor Taras Dunas reported at a press briefing on Dec. 29 that Halaiko would be charged with offering an unlawful inducement to an official.
He said that the sum of cash offered by the airport head had been seized, and its origin is to be investigated.
According to Lutsenko, Halaiko received the money as a kickback from the Head of the Avtomahistral construction company. Lutsenko said that Halaiko signed a contract worth Hr 64 million with Avtomahistral for constructing a new runway for Mykolaiv airport.
The charges Halaiko faces carry from four to eight years of imprisonment, with the possible confiscation of property.
