A Defense Ministry official and an accomplice were charged with soliciting a $1 million bribe, the National Police and Prosecutor General’s Office reported on July 23.
The official, who heads the construction department at the Odesa Oblast branch of the Defense Ministry, allegedly wanted $1 million to rig a competition for building housing for service people and their families.
An Odesa-based news website later identified the main suspect as Vasyl Rakul, head of Southern Branch of the Capital Construction Department at the Defense Minister. His alleged accomplice was identified as Ruslan Kovtun, a former employee of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
While searching the official’s house, the police seized documents showing that the winner of the future competition was determined in advance.
If found guilty, the two men face from five to 12 years in prison.
On July 28, the Pechersk Court in Kyiv will determine the pre-trial restrictions for the two suspects.
According to Odesa media, Rakul is a former head of the trade department of the city council of Odesa.
Bribery is ubiquitous in the construction sphere in Ukraine, with officials soliciting kickbacks for construction competitions, land allocation, and certification of new buildings.
One of the most high-profile cases like that is the case of Maksym Mykytas, a former lawmaker and head of Ukrbud construction company, who has been under investigation for embezzlement.
Back in 2016, Mykytas’ Ukrbud constructed an apartment block in downtown Kyiv on the land that belonged to the National Guard, a division with the Interior Ministry. In exchange, the company had to give 50 apartments in the new building to the National Guard, to house its service people.
According to prosecution, Mykytas bribed then-head of the National Guard to swap the 50 apartments in downtown Kyiv for 65 apartments in Kyiv’s suburbs at a price difference of over Hr 81 million ($3.3 million). Mykytas denied the accusations.
