Ukrainian Railways Official Arrested for Demanding $100,000 for Track Dismantling
An official from Ukraine's state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, has been arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe of $100,000 for the dismantling of a railway track. The arrest highlights ongoing issues of corruption within government structures.
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations, in collaboration with the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police, have apprehended the deputy head of one of the departments at JSC Ukrzaliznytsia. This official is suspected of soliciting a bribe amounting to $100,000.
According to information shared by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on social media, the deputy director of the Environmental Safety Department at Ukrzaliznytsia demanded this sum from a representative of a company engaged in granite production in the Khmelnytskyi region. In exchange for the money, he promised to 'resolve the issue' regarding the dismantling and write-off of a railway track that was obstructing the expansion of the company's operations.
The scheme orchestrated by the official was meticulously planned. Initially, it was intended to initiate a 'seasonal bypass' so that a commission could declare the track unprofitable. Following this, the dismantling, write-off, and exclusion of the track from the registers would take place. There were also discussions about transferring the land on which the track was located to the local community for quarrying purposes.
The official assured the company representative that the dismantling process was complex and required approvals from the management of Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the relevant specialized departments. In return, he promised to organize the entire process 'turnkey' within 3 to 6 months, citing his experience with similar work at the Lviv Railway.
While law enforcement officials have not disclosed the name of the suspect, sources within the law enforcement agencies indicate that the individual in question is Oleksiy Obrizan, the deputy director of the Environmental Safety Department of the Traffic Safety, Labor Protection, and Environmental Safety Department at Ukrzaliznytsia.
According to the investigation, Obrizan was approached by a representative of a mining company requesting documentation for the dismantling or relocation of the railway track, which was on the balance sheet of Ukrzaliznytsia and passed through the territory of the deposit.
The official assured that he could assist in obtaining the permit for dismantling at the expense of Ukrzaliznytsia; however, he demanded $100,000 for this service. To confirm his 'commitments,' he even promised to provide a receipt for the money received.
On April 8, after receiving the full amount of $100,000, equivalent to approximately 4.4 million hryvnias, along with providing a receipt, the official was arrested. Currently, authorities are determining the next steps regarding the announcement of suspicion for receiving unlawful benefits in particularly large amounts under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
This article carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with asset confiscation for the arrested individual. This case once again underscores the seriousness of the corruption problem within government structures and the urgent need for decisive measures to combat it.