The State Bureau of Investigation arrested the head of a city council and the council secretary in Dnipropetrovsk region. They demanded a bribe of USD 30,000 from an entrepreneur who planned to build a dormitory for IDPs.  The SBI’s website states this.

The businessman decided to renovate an unfinished school and make it into a shelter for displaced people. An international organization would pay for the accommodation.

The officials demanded $30,000 to bring the issue to the city council for a vote. In return, they promised to influence the deputies to vote for a long-term lease of the premises without holding a special tender.

On April 9, 2024, the officials were taken into custody while accepting a bribe. They have been served with an official notice of suspicion of extortion and receipt of an unlawful benefit on a particularly large scale, by Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The article says that people who break it could go to prison for up to 12 years and have their property taken away. The court has to decide what to do.

The full range of individuals who may be involved in the crime is also being identified.

“It is unacceptable for officials to demand bribes for the arrangement of temporary housing for IDPs. This is especially shameful at a time when the government is negotiating international assistance to ensure the housing rights of IDPs. I am grateful to law enforcement officers for their work,” said Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.