Ruling party MP charged with bribery
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has obtained evidence that an MP from the ruling Servant of the People party demanded a $92,000 bribe in exchange for facilitating an infrastructure project in Sumy Oblast, SAPO reported on July 16.
While SAPO has not disclosed the MP's name, Interfax-Ukraine news agency identified the suspect as Mykola Zadorozhnyi, a sitting MP representing the Servant of the People party.
According to a separate statement from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), in March, the MP asked the head of a village council in Sumy Oblast for a bribe in exchange from not interfering with a project to repair a local water pipeline.
The investigation established that Zadorozhnyi demanded 14% of the funding allocated for the project, amounting to UAH 3.4 million ($92,000).
Of this sum, 10% was intended for the MP himself, while 4% was earmarked for local law enforcement officials, who would ensure the construction proceeds without obstruction.
Charged with criminal corruption, Zadorozhnyi faces up to 12 years in prison.
In May, Zadorozhnyi was appointed chair of the temporary parliamentary investigative committee that oversees battlefield fortification construction and military drone procurement.
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