Heads of the State Customs Service Department who demanded bribes from regional customs officers have been detained. This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Details
The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Prosecutor General's Office, managed to eliminate a corruption scheme in the State Customs Service.
As a result of coordination activities in Kyiv, the Director of the Department of Departmental Security and Control of the State Customs Service and his deputy were detained.
According to preliminary investigative data, the detainees were constantly receiving undue benefits for promising not to interfere with the activities of regional customs officers and protect them from administrative sanctions. Documentation of the criminal activity lasted over a year and revealed at least eight cases of monthly extortion.
The criminals were served a notice of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. As part of the investigation, searches are also being conducted at the Central Office of the State Customs Service and its regional offices in the West, South and Center of the country.
Investigative actions are ongoing to identify all persons involved in the corruption scheme and bring them to justice.