Zaporizhzhia TCP Officials Detained for Bribe

In Zaporizhia, law enforcement officers detained two officials from different territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCP and SS) on suspicion of extortion and receiving illegal benefits. According to the investigation, the suspects extorted two thousand dollars from a veteran. The men were detained while trying to receive a bribe.

According to the investigation, the deputy head of one of the district TCPs and a representative of another recruitment center demanded $2,000 from the ex-military man for performing their official duties.

A veteran who recently returned home after serving in the Kharkiv region turned to the district TCP to undergo a standard registration procedure. However, instead of proper paperwork, he encountered outright blackmail. Having received his details, one of the suspects began to extort money from the serviceman, threatening to put him on the wanted list and send him back to the front.

A second TCP employee offered the military man his services as an intermediary, as if he could influence his colleagues.

The suspects were detained at the moment of handing over the bribe. After receiving the money, the deputy head of the district TCP tried to escape in a car, throwing banknotes out the window, but was stopped by law enforcement officers.

Law enforcement officers informed the men of suspicion of extortion and receiving illegal benefits (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years. The investigation is ongoing.

We previously reported that in the Kharkiv region, an official of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection demanded a bribe for registering enterprises.