Sumy Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko has suspended from his position for two months, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said.

"On October 9, 2023, the investigative judge of the HACC [High Anti-Corruption Court] granted the motion of the NABU [National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine] detectives, agreed by the SAPO prosecutor, and suspended from post the mayor of Sumy, who, together with the director of the Infrastructure Department of Sumy region, was exposed for demanding and receiving illegal benefits on a particularly large scale, namely UAH 2.130 million," it said on the Telegram channel on Monday.

The suspension period is reported to be two months.

As reported, on October 9, the prosecutor of the SAPO filed a petition to the HACC for the suspension of the Sumy mayor from his post.

As reported, on October 2, 2023, the mayor of Sumy and the head of the department were caught red-handed immediately after receiving the third tranche of the agreed funds – UAH 1.43 million. The officials demanded a bribe for resolving the issue of setting by the executive committee of Sumy City Council for a legal entity a new economically justified tariff for the management of household waste and not creating artificial obstacles in the implementation of economic activities by the enterprise.

The actions of the officials were qualified under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On October 3, law enforcement officers notified Sumy mayor of suspicion. On October 5, the HACC chose a measure of restraint for him in the form of detention with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 3 million.