Village head tried to bribe police in Zhytomyr region

A 33-year-old village elder in Zhytomyr district was reported under suspicion. According to investigators, the man tried to bribe police officers so that they would not detain him for driving under the influence of drugs.

This was told to the media by Anna Ostrovska, the chief specialist for information policy at the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to her, the suspicion was served on the local government official under the procedural guidance of the Berdychiv District Prosecutor's Office on April 30, 2025.

It was established that in early February 2025, police officers stopped a car in Berdychiv for a traffic violation. During a check of the driver's documents, signs of drug intoxication were found. However, instead of complying with the police officers' legal requirement to undergo a medical examination, the man tried to negotiate with the police officers and offered them 10,000 hryvnias for "resolving the issue" on the spot.

The police recorded the circumstances of the offense on body cameras and called an investigative and operational team.

The suspect's actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 15, Part 1 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - as a completed attempt to provide an official with an unlawful benefit for failing to take action using his or her powers.

If the official is proven guilty, he may face a sentence of imprisonment from 5 to 10 years with or without confiscation of property.

Recall, we previously reported that the mayor of Kivertsi is suspected of embezzling UAH 6 million on cars.

We also reported that a Kyiv City State Administration inspector was caught taking a $15,000 bribe.