The minister took the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices (representative)
Kiev:
A Ukrainian deputy energy minister accused of taking bribes worth half a million dollars has been arrested along with three alleged accomplices, Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Monday.
The minister, who did not name the SBU, is said to have demanded that mining industry officials pay him to transfer equipment from mines in Donetsk’s eastern frontline to a coal basin in western Ukraine.
“The equipment in question is unique and scarce and belongs to one of the state-owned coal companies in the most active area of the eastern front line – Pokrovsk,” the SBU said in a statement.
“In the spring of 2024, industry representatives approached the Deputy Minister of Energy to obtain permission to evacuate the equipment from the war zone and use it in mines in a western region,” it added.
“However, the official, whose duties include preserving mining equipment, demanded money for its removal,” the report said.
The minister collected the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices, all of whom were caught “red-handed” after the minister received part of the bribe, according to the statement.
The SBU did not reveal the identities of the four suspects and posted photos of its officers arresting the suspects with their faces blurred.
But Ukrainian opposition member Yaroslav Zheleznyak named the minister Oleksandr Kheilo, a deputy energy minister.
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers later issued an order dismissing Kheilo from his position, a government channel on Telegram said.
Ukraine, which had serious corruption problems even before Russia’s 2022 invasion, has vowed to step up anti-corruption efforts as it pursues EU membership and reassure its Western military base.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to power on a platform of ending corruption, firing a number of officials last year, including his defense minister, over corruption scandals in the military.
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