Position: Mayor of Berdichev.
Sphere of corrupt activity: construction.
Region of corruption activity: Zhytomyr region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status : at large.
The plot of the case: as reported by the media, Berdychiv Mayor Serhiy Orlyuk was detained on the afternoon of June 20, 2025, in the middle of the street.
On June 23, police reported that they had detained the mayor of one of the cities in Zhytomyr region for taking a bribe, and he was suspected of extortion and receiving illegal benefits.
On June 20, operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department in Zhytomyr Oblast and investigators of the Investigations Department of the Regional Police exposed an official for receiving $2,000 in illegal benefits. For this amount, the mayor of the city was supposed to resolve the issue of granting permission by the executive committee of the city council to install two temporary pavilions, approve the relevant projects, and connect the said pavilions to the city water supply and sewage network.
The suspect was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Based on the evidence obtained, the police informed the man of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Accepting an offer, promise, or receiving an illegal benefit by an official is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, with confiscation of property.
According to the pre-trial investigation, since July 2024, one of the entrepreneurs has been negotiating with the mayor of one of the settlements regarding the placement of temporary commercial facilities on the territory of the community. At repeated meetings, the official requested a “fee” for his services for a positive resolution of the issue in favor of the applicant, since there is allegedly significant competition for such activities. Understanding the illegality of the requirements, the entrepreneur turned to law enforcement officers. In May 2025, at another meeting, the official announced a specific amount - 1,000 US dollars for each permit for the installation of a temporary structure. After that, the mayor initiated consideration and lobbied the interests of the entrepreneur at meetings of the working group and executive committee, and after that - personally signed the relevant decisions on the approval of places for the placement of bus stops in the specified locations
Later, it became known that a bail of 242 thousand hryvnias was paid for the mayor of Berdychiv, Serhiy Orlyuk, who is suspected of bribery.
On June 21, the court chose a preventive measure for the suspect in the form of detention with the right to post bail in the amount of 80 subsistence minimums.
Bail was posted for Orlyuk on June 23. The court noted that after the bail was posted, the mayor of Berdychiv was released from custody.
On October 9, 2025, it became known that the police had completed the pre-trial investigation into the case of Berdychiv City Mayor Serhiy Orlyuk — the case was sent to court.
On October 17, the Berdychiv City District Court suspended Serhiy Orlyuk from his position for another two months. Serhiy Orlyuk himself did not agree with this decision.
In early June 2026, the Berdychiv City District Court of Zhytomyr Oblast held a regular hearing in the case of Berdychiv City Mayor Serhiy Orlyuk, who is accused of receiving illegal benefits. The court continued to examine written evidence and began reviewing audio and video materials attached to the case. This was reported by Suspilne.
As the investigation established, since July 2024, one of the entrepreneurs had been negotiating with the Berdychiv mayor regarding the placement of temporary trade pavilions in the community. In return, the mayor allegedly demanded a payment of $1,000 for each pavilion. The entrepreneur contacted law enforcement, and the mayor was detained on June 20, 2025, for receiving a $2,000 bribe.
On May 15, 2026, the court began examining written evidence and during the hearing, the name of the applicant entrepreneur was announced. However, the prosecutor asked journalists not to publish it, as the entrepreneur is cooperating with the investigation.
The prosecutor invited a specialist to the court session to open protected audio and video files containing recordings of telephone conversations and meetings between the defendants in the case. Prosecutor Vasyl Nykonchuk explained that the specialist was invited to ensure the integrity of the files.
The first to be examined was a telephone conversation between Serhiy Orlyuk and the entrepreneur on December 24, 2024. Defense attorney Lyudmila Zhukovska stated that her client had not had the opportunity to review the audio and video materials. The prosecutor, however, objected, noting that the defense had been given access to the case materials, and no comments had been received regarding the review earlier.
The next video to be examined was from February 28, 2025. The recording showed that the entrepreneur was interested in the progress of resolving the issue of placing pavilions. In response, the interlocutor reported that there were no problems and asked why the application had not yet been submitted, the correspondent reported.
Commenting on the content of the video, defense attorney Lyudmila Zhukovska said that there was no hint of bribery in the recording. The court also watched a video recording of a meeting in a cafe near the Berdychiv City Council and a recording of a trip around the city, during which possible locations for temporary structures were discussed.
Separately, the court considered materials regarding a meeting that took place on May 5, 2025 in Zhytomyr. Serhiy Orlyuk confirmed that he was in the city that day and was looking for a restaurant. However, the audio recording of this conversation was not played during the hearing because this recording was not included in the materials examined in court.
According to the prosecutor, this recording is one of the key pieces of evidence in the case. For her part, the defense attorney stated that she doubts the admissibility of such evidence. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for June 18. During it, the court plans to examine the audio recording of the conversation between the entrepreneur and Serhiy Orlyuk, which the prosecution calls one of the key pieces of evidence in the case.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about potential accomplices.
Assets: in the declaration for 2024, Orlyuk indicated that he rents two land plots in Berdychiv, and also owns a veterinary clinic and real estate.
Orlyuk also declared two cars: a Hyundai Santa FE and a Renault Kango (total cost – UAH 570,000).
Orlyuk's income for 2024 was UAH 367,588, and his wife's was UAH 537,125.
The couple kept their main financial assets in cash. In particular, the official declared UAH 110,000, and his wife declared UAH 95,000.
Serhiy Orlyuk also sold a Renault Kangoo. Orlyuk published a notice of significant changes in his property status on July 3, 2025.
It is noted that on June 27, 2025, he received UAH 189,136 from Izhytska Marina Volodymyrivna for the sold Renault Kangoo 2011 car. The declaration for 2024 states that Serhiy Orlyuk became the owner of this truck in December 2016 and at that time it cost UAH 150,000.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Orlyuk's criminal activities in a timely manner, charging him with suspicion.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, he was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://www.zhitomir.info/news_228558.html
https://www.zhitomir.info/news_228515.html
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/01d6da45-5b3a-4d79-8fda-2f12175a22bd
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/3ec4d447-5355-4b32-8bba-1a0ac3e7ceb6