Chairman of Ternopil Regional Council and Two Deputies Detained for Extortion

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) announced on June 26 that they have detained the chair of the Ternopil Regional Council and two deputies of the Ternopil Military-Civil Administration (MCA) based on the findings of an anti-corruption investigation.

According to the NABU, the detained individuals are Mykhailo Golovko, the head of the Ternopil Regional Council, and two deputies of the Ternopil MCA, Ihor Demyanchuk and Ihor Haiduk, who were apprehended for allegedly accepting bribes.

Investigators say the officials demanded Hr. 1.8 million (approximately $50,000) from the owner of an enterprise in exchange for signing work completion documents related to infrastructure projects, as well as for the repair of infrastructure facilities carried out by the Municipal Enterprise of the Ternopil Regional Council.

“After receiving the third installment, amounting to over Hr. 600,000 ($16,200), the chairman of the Ternopil Regional Council and two deputy chairmen of the Ternopil Military-Civil Administration were caught ‘in the act’,” reported the NABU and SAP on their official platforms.

Preliminary charges against the detainees include violation of Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to bribery of individuals providing public services.

Prior to this incident, the NABU reported on June 7 that they had apprehended a deputy from the Rivne Regional Council for attempting to extort a bribe of $1,200. The deputy was also caught “in the act” while demanding money from a citizen in exchange for disability group registration related to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. 

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These investigations were initiated based on a citizen’s complaint after the deputy demanded funds from that individual.