The minister received the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices (Representational)
Kyiv:
A Ukrainian deputy energy minister accused of accepting a half-million-dollar bribe was arrested along with three alleged accomplices, Ukraine’s SBU Security Service said on Monday.
The minister, whom the SBU did not name, allegedly demanded that mining industry officials pay him to transfer equipment from mines in the frontline region of Donetsk in the east to a coal basin in western Ukraine.
“The equipment in question is unique and scarce, belonging to one of the state-owned coal companies located in the most active area of the eastern front line – Pokrovsk,” the SBU said in a statement.
“In the spring of 2024, industry representatives contacted the deputy minister of Energy to obtain permission to evacuate the equipment from the war zone and use it in mines in a western region,” he added.
“However, the person responsible, whose duties included preserving the mining equipment, demanded money for its removal,” he said.
The minister received the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices, all of whom were caught “red-handed” after the minister received part of the bribe, according to the statement.
The SBU did not reveal the identities of the four accused, publishing photos of its officers arresting the suspects with their faces blurred.
But Ukrainian opposition deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak named the minister as Oleksandr Kheilo, deputy energy minister.
Later, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers issued an order to dismiss Kheilo from office, according to a government Telegram channel.
Ukraine, which had serious corruption problems even before Russia’s invasion in 2022, has pledged to strengthen efforts to combat corruption as it seeks EU membership and to reassure its Western military backers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to power on a platform to end corruption and fired several officials, including his defense minister, last year over corruption scandals in the army.
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