BES employees exposed for bribery, detective and analyst detained - Kravchenko
Two employees of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) who used their official positions and connections to receive bribes have been exposed, and a detective and an analyst have been detained, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has said.
On his Telegram channel on Thursday, he informed that the cases involve two separate criminal proceedings.
"In the first case, a senior detective of the territorial office of the BES in Kyiv region was exposed. He demanded $15,000 from a man who appeared in a case involving the manufacture, import, and sale of counterfeit money," the Prosecutor General noted.
Kravchenko added: "The detective claimed that he allegedly had enough evidence to bring the man to criminal justice again and assured him that due to a previous conviction, he would ‘definitely end up behind bars.’ At the same time, he offered to ‘settle the issue’ for a bribe."
According to the Prosecutor General, the detective sent summonses ostensibly for investigative actions to organize the meetings.
"Initially, the detective received $10,000, after which he conducted no investigative actions with the man. Today, during another meeting with the applicant, the detective was detained," Kravchenko informed.
In the other proceeding, as specified by the Prosecutor General, an analyst of the BES of Ukraine and a former tax service employee was exposed.
According to the investigation, a representative of an enterprise that had been denied a license to store fuel approached him.
"The analyst offered help with resubmitting the documents. For a bribe, he promised to use old connections and influence tax service officials. After the resubmission of documents, the enterprise was indeed issued a license, and the BES employee demanded his ‘reward’ of $2,000," the Prosecutor General said.
Both officials were detained after receiving the funds in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Notifications of suspicion for committing corruption crimes and motions to the court for the choice of preventive measures are being prepared.
The actions of the senior BES detective have been qualified as receiving an improper benefit by an official holding a responsible position on a large scale under Part 3 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The BES analyst is charged with receiving an improper benefit for himself for influencing a decision by a person authorized to perform state functions under Part 3 of Art. 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"The crimes were uncovered thanks to the joint actions of the prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the SBU, and the SBI," the Prosecutor General noted.
The Bureau of Economic Security confirmed that law enforcement officers are conducting "urgent investigative actions and procedural measures, including searches, within the framework of criminal proceedings regarding possible manifestations of corruption among certain BES employees," and declared full cooperation with the investigation. "The BES interacts with the investigation, ensures full assistance to law enforcement agencies, and provides all necessary information for a comprehensive and complete establishment of the circumstances of the offenses," a statement on the BES website said on Thursday.
"The Bureau’s position is unchanged and uncompromising: any manifestations of corruption or attempts to use the status of a Bureau employee for personal interests are stopped immediately. Cleaning the system of dishonest elements is an integral part of building a transparent and independent body," the BES emphasized.
