Position: Acting Director of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine No. 98.
Sphere of corruption: penitentiary.
Region of corruption activity: Khmelnytskyi region.
Qualification: Part 3, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (receiving a large bribe by an official in a prior conspiracy).
Status: detention with the possibility of posting bail of 499 thousand UAH.
Case story: The acting director of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine No. 98 is suspected of bribery. The official demanded kickbacks from private entrepreneurs for agreements concluded with the correctional institution. This was reported on Monday, December 1, by the press services of the State Penitentiary Service and the Prosecutor's Office of the Khmelnytskyi region. According to the investigation, the official, in return for remuneration, provided advantages to individual entrepreneurs when concluding contracts for work performed by convicts of Shepetivska Correctional Colony No. 98. For each agreement, he demanded 10% of the contract amount for himself.
Law enforcement officers are not specifying the suspect's name. However, according to income declarations for 2024 and 2025, this position was held by Ivan Kucheruk.
The illegal actions were exposed thanks to a businessman who ordered the production of wire inconspicuous barriers from the colony. The contract amount was UAH 6 million, so the official requested UAH 600,000 for assistance in making a decision
In September of this year, the official received the first part of the bribe – UAH 150,000. The businessman handed over the remaining UAH 405,000 and $1,300 on November 26. After that, the director of the colony was detained.
He was charged under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (receiving a large bribe by an official in a prior conspiracy). The court chose a preventive measure - detention with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 499 thousand UAH. If found guilty, the official faces up to 10 years in prison.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: being identified.
Assets: in the declaration for 2024, Kucher indicated an apartment and two land plots. In addition, Kucher declared the following income: from the State Enterprise “Enterprise of the State Security Service of Ukraine (No. 98)” — salary of UAH 318,473; from citizen Kucher Oleksandr — a cash gift of UAH 70,000; from LLC “IBK ENERGOCAPITAL” — part-time salary of UAH 89,029; his wife received social benefits of UAH 3,804 from the Khmelnytskyi Regional Employment Center; and from individual entrepreneur Linnik Olena Oleksandrivna — salary of UAH 62,541. He also declared UAH 500,000 in cash.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Kucher, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner.
Scandals: There is no information in open sources about other scandals in which Kucher would appear.
Sources:
https://zaxid.net/direktora_vipravnogo_zakladu_na_hmelnichchini_vikrili_na_habarnitstvi_n1624959
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/a872f970-4e91-44da-ab4a-6177ab3caa5c