Tried to bribe an official with bitcoins: case of MP Odarchenko sent to court
Kyiv • UNN
The case of MP Andriy Odarchenko for bribing the head of the State Agency for Infrastructure of Ukraine with bitcoins has been sent to court by the NABU.
The case of MP Andriy Odarchenko, who is suspected of bribing the head of the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine with bitcoins, has been sent to court, UNN reports, citing NABU.
"...sent to court a case on charges of a current MP of Ukraine, a member of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, of providing undue benefits to top officials in the field of recovery. The MP's actions are qualified under Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the statement said.
Details
On November 21, 2023, law enforcement officers implemented a large-scale operation to expose current members of the Ukrainian Parliament, officials and business representatives for providing illegal benefits. Three episodes of criminal activity were documented.
According to the investigation, in August 2023, MP Andrii Odarchenko asked a top official of the State Agency for Reconstruction to facilitate the allocation of funds for the repair of an infrastructure facility under his control. For this, he promised an unlawful benefit in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin equivalent to 50 thousand dollars, and later provided a part of it in the amount of 0.39 bitcoins, which at that time was equal to 10 thousand dollars.
This is the first time in the history of anti-corruption authorities that an illegal benefit has been documented in a cryptocurrency.
On January 11, 2024, the investigation against MP Odarchenko was completed.
