Serhiy Budnyk, the chief of the protection police department of the Ukrainian National Police, has been detained on suspicion of receiving improper advantage, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.

"Chief of the Ukrainian protection police department Gen. 3rd Rank Budnyk has been caught taking a bribe. In addition to his official pay, he also demanded over UAH 80,000 monthly through a mediator for providing physical protection services," Lutsenko said on Facebook on Tuesday evening.

Ukrainian special services detained Budnyk while accepting a bribe amounting to UAH 96,000, Lutsenko said. Budnyk has received a total of more than UAH 170,000 in bribes since June, he said.

Budnyk served as a deputy chief of the traffic police department in 2008-2010 and chief of the Interior Ministry's traffic safety and automated systems center from 2010 to 2014. Then Budnyk was appointed first deputy chief of the traffic police department in April 2014 and acting chief of the state protection service department in October 2014.

Until lately, Budnyk has served as chief of the protection police department, which is tasked with providing physical security, apartment security, security monitoring, protection of valuables, and other services.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said on Wednesday morning that preliminary investigative authorities were preparing to officially notify Budnyk of being suspected of 'receiving improper advantage', and a court would have to choose a pretrial restrictive measure for him. The Ukrainian Criminal Code stipulates that, if found guilty, he may face from eight to twelve years of imprisonment and confiscation of his property, and be subsequently banned from occupying certain positions for up to three years.