Position: Deputy Head of the OSSU in the Rivne region.
Sphere of corrupt activity: law enforcement.
Region of corruption activity: Rivne region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: On March 16, 2026, law enforcement officers uncovered a large-scale scheme to extort money from amber miners in the Rivne region. As part of the operation, two officials of the Security Service of Ukraine and their intermediary were detained.
According to the investigation, SSU officials, through a proxy, demanded $620,000 from the head of a company operating in the amber mining sector. In exchange for this money, they promised to help close the criminal proceedings previously opened against the company.
Employees of the Main Department of Internal Security of the SBU detained the suspects while transferring part of the bribe - over $270,000.
The said officials and the intermediary were detained today while receiving $250,000 as part of the ill-gotten gains for falsifying criminal proceedings and $22,100 for facilitating the extraction of amber
During the searches, mobile phones were seized from the suspects, which, according to the investigation, contain evidence of their illegal activities. Law enforcement officers are currently preparing a report on suspicion of receiving an illegal benefit by an official. If convicted, the suspects face up to ten years in prison with confiscation of property.
The media reported that among those detained were:
· Oleh Tokarchuk – Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the SSU in Kyiv and Kyiv region.
· Ihor Brika – Deputy Head of the OSSU in the Rivne region.
· Andriy Avdievskyi – the intermediary and “cashier” of the scheme.
According to their data, the defendants demanded $620,000 for the closure of criminal proceedings against the Amber Galbin group of companies. In addition, the investigation is establishing the circumstances of another episode - the alleged collection of a daily "tribute" from amber pumps. According to law enforcement officers, they could demand approximately $400 per day from each operating installation for uninterrupted operation.
The next day, it became known that all three men were charged with receiving unlawful benefit in an especially large amount (Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The civil mediator (his name is Andriy Avdievsky) was additionally charged with complicity in receiving unlawful benefit (Part 5 of Article 27 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, SSU officials organized a mechanism to pressure businesses. They received illegal benefits from enterprises for solving their "problematic issues."
An official of the Main Directorate of the SSU in Kyiv and Kyiv region used criminal proceedings as a source of illicit enrichment.
He engaged a civilian to mediate, who communicated with the business and coordinated the transfer of cash.
It was established that during meetings in the Rivne region, entrepreneurs were offered a sum of 600 thousand US dollars for the so-called "tariff for quiet work." In return, they promised to close the criminal proceedings, change the qualification of the case, and not interfere in business activities in the future, the Prosecutor General notes.
Obtaining the illegal benefit occurred in stages:
– On March 6, the first tranche of $50,000 was transferred in Kyiv as confirmation of the seriousness of the intentions. After that, the businessmen were provided with a “road map” for resolving their problems in criminal proceedings.
– On March 16, the second tranche of 250 thousand USD was transferred to one of the restaurants in the Kyiv region.
Separately, the deputy head of the OSSU in the Rivne region was exposed, who, through the same intermediary, received more than 22 thousand USD from an entrepreneur for ensuring unhindered amber mining.
In total, law enforcement officers documented the receipt of over 322 thousand USD.
Subsequently, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Kyiv arrested Igor Brika, the deputy head of the SBU department in the Rivne region, for two months with the possibility of bail of 998 thousand hryvnias.
According to the investigation, Brika, through an intermediary, demanded $22,000 in bribes from a company that mines amber in the Rivne region in exchange for not obstructing their work. Brika himself has not admitted his guilt. According to his lawyers, the investigation did not provide evidence that their client was involved in the extortion and receipt of the bribe.
The defense also argued that Britsa's health did not allow him to be held in a pre-trial detention center. Information about his condition was discussed behind closed doors, without journalists.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: Deputy Head of the SBU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv Region Oleh Tokarchuk, intermediary Andriy Avdievsky.
Assets: There are no declarations of Brik's income in open sources.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to the criminal activity in a timely manner, handing over suspicions to all participants in the corruption scheme.
Scandals: after the suspicion was served Journalists found the real estate of Igor Birka's alleged mother-in-law, Natalia Andrushek: her address matches the Chernihiv address of the SBV's wife, she has the same last name that Brika's wife had before marriage, and by age she could be her mother.
In August 2022, then 63-year-old Natalia Andrushek purchased an apartment in Kyiv in the business-class residential complex "Holosievo". According to the real estate sales website LUN, one square meter in this building is sold for approximately 87.5 thousand hryvnias. So an apartment with an area of 105.7 square meters could now cost more than 9 million hryvnias. There is no information about Natalia Andrushek's business activities in open registers.
At the same time, it is unknown whether Ihor Brika worked for the Security Service at the time of purchasing this property. The earliest mention of his work in the SBU was found by journalists in 2023 - then he presented a certificate from the SBU department to the head of the Rivne Regional Hospital for War Veterans and regional council deputy Andriy Burachyk.
His wife, Tetyana Brika, at the time of buying the apartment, worked in the regional branch of the State Property Fund of Ukraine for the Kyiv region - she was the chief specialist of the department of accounting and management of state property objects. In March 2025, she was appointed head of the department of economic and agro-industrial development, housing and communal services, urban planning and architecture of the Rivne Regional State Administration.
Journalists of "Slidstva.Info" tried to find out from Tatyana Brika whether Igor Brika was involved in her appointment, but she refused to comment. It was also not possible to get an answer from Natalia Andrushek regarding the cost of the apartment and the source of income: the woman did not answer the phone number found, and messages in "Viber" also remained unanswered.
Ihor Brika's mother, Kateryna, also owns real estate in Kyiv. In August 2023, she purchased a parking space with an area of 18.9 square meters in a house next to the alleged matchmaker's home. According to the YouControl analytical system, since May 2022, Kateryna Brika has been registered as an entrepreneur in Chernihiv and is engaged in the rental of trucks. Journalists called her individual entrepreneur number to find out about her son's possible involvement in the purchase, but she did not answer.
Ihor Brika himself has an apartment in a new building in Rivne with an area of 83.3 square meters. He probably received it as an employee of the SSU: this property previously belonged to the Security Service Department.
Currently, an apartment of a similar size in this building is being sold for almost 4 million hryvnias.
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