Under the supervision of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, three officials from the Southern Interregional Forest and Hunting Management have been charged with receiving illegal benefits (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, two of the suspects, holding leadership positions, devised a corruption scheme to systematically obtain illegal benefits from individuals seeking to acquire a hunting license.
They developed a mechanism for manipulation during the examination process to obtain the license.
To implement their plan, they involved members of the examination commission responsible for conducting the tests and ensuring favorable outcomes.
«The fee» for successfully passing the tests was set at a minimum of 2000 UAH per candidate. In total, the officials received over 100,000 UAH in illegal benefits. They were apprehended while receiving the next tranche.
At the prosecutor's request, they were placed under preventive measures - detention with an alternative bail option. Issues regarding their suspension from office are being addressed.
The investigation is ongoing to identify other individuals involved in the illegal activities.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Mykolaiv.
Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.
