Sumy Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko was charged
with receiving a UAH 2.13 million ($59,000) bribe, the National Anti-Corruption
Bureau of Ukraine (NABU)
reported on Oct. 3.
Together with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), NABU investigated the alleged crime, charging Lysenko and the director of the Infrastructure Department of Sumy Oblast, Oleksandr Zhurba. The suspects could face 8 to 12 years in prison.
On Oct. 2, Lysenko and Zhurba were arrested while accepting the bribe. The operation was conducted by NABU and SAPO jointly with Ukraine’s SBU security service.
The SBU reported that the officials had "demanded a tribute" from a waste disposal company, requiring the entrepreneur to pay UAH 2.13 million or risk losing the municipal contract.