Position: Acting Mayor of Kostopil City Council.
Sphere of corruption : land issues.
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 February 25, 2025, law enforcement officers exposed the acting head of the Kostopil City Council, David Didukh, and deputy Oleksandr Bilera, in a corruption scheme. The officials agreed with the entrepreneur on the free transfer of land worth 1.3 million UAH, and in return promised to help him with the approval of the necessary documentation in the City Council. Now they face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
As reported by the State Bureau of Investigation, the acting mayor acted in collusion with a deputy who holds the position of chief engineer for forest protection and conservation of the Forests of Ukraine branch. According to the investigation, the officials demanded a bribe from a local entrepreneur in the form of a free transfer of land with an area of 0.38 hectares, the market value of which is over 1.3 million UAH.
In return, the suspects helped the businessman approve detailed plans for the territories in the city council and its bodies, change the purpose of other land plots owned by the businessman, and assign addresses to construction and real estate objects on his lands.
On February 24, a private notary prepared documents for the alienation of a land plot in favor of a person controlled by the mayor. After that, law enforcement officers detained all participants in the crime.
The acting mayor and the deputy were charged with receiving illegal benefits in an especially large amount (Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for up to twelve years in prison with confiscation of property.
The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv chose Didukh as a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of paying bail in the amount of UAH 1,302,040. After paying it on February 27, he left the Kyiv Pre-trial Detention Center. However, the court ordered the suspect to surrender his passport, wear an electronic bracelet, and not contact the deputies of the City Council, its employees, witnesses in the case, and the suspected deputy Oleksandr Bilera, who is currently under house arrest.
After posting bail, City Council Secretary David Didukh is under nighttime house arrest, and MP Oleksandr Bilera is under 24-hour house arrest. They were also fitted with electronic bracelets.
At the end of April, David Didukh returned to work after a three-month break. Earlier, the official announced that he was removing himself from his duties and going on a long-term vacation. However, after the city council session held in late April, Didukh again headed the community.
After the corruption scheme gained public attention, David Didukh announced on his Facebook page that he was removing himself from office and going on a long-term leave. Liliya Shulzhuk, the head of the executive committee of the Kostopil City Council, temporarily took over his duties.
Later, after a three-month break, a session of the city council was held in Kostopil, attended by David Didukh. He stated that 11 deputies had expressed no confidence in him.
I put a draft resolution on expressing no confidence in me to the vote on the agenda, which received 11 votes. This confirmed my words that my removal will not happen, since the deputies do not support it, but simply some political forces are artificially spreading this topic on the Internet.
According to the mayor of Kostopol, the court did not remove him from office, but imposed some restrictions that prevented him from returning to work earlier. David Didukh also added that "the legal process affects the performance of duties only in that it sometimes forces him to distract himself from community life to resolve personal issues."
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: in addition to Didukh, city council member Oleksandr Bilera is also involved in the case.
Assets: in the 2023 declaration, Didukh indicated that he owns only one plot of land.
At the same time, Didukh owns a premium Mercedes Benz car.
Didukh's income for the same year was UAH 610,649. He declared UAH 450,000, USD 95,000, and EUR 36,000 in cash.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Didukh's criminal activities in a timely manner. However, he still holds the position of acting mayor of the city.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, he was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://zaxid.net/mera_kostopolya_davida_diduha_vikrili_na_13_mln_grn_habara_n1604676
https://rivnepost.rv.ua/news/ochilniku-kostopolya-ta-yoho-spilniku-odyahnuli-elektronni-brasleti
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/7ad7e77f-0a1d-4010-a198-638bbb4e56ae
https://zaxid.net/pidozryuvaniy_u_zemelniy_mahinatsiyi_mer_kostopolya_povernuvsya_do_roboti_n1609364