In Rivne Region, employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, together with the Security Service, uncovered the head of one of the forestry departments working in the branch 'Polissia Forestry Office' of the State Enterprise 'Forests of Ukraine', for demanding a bribe. The man demanded 3 million hryvnias from a contractor for the opportunity to work and win tenders, reports 'Glavkom' citing the SBI.
According to the SBI, the bribe was received by a representative of a commercial company engaged in logging. The head of the forestry department established a 'rate' of 40 hryvnias for each cubic meter of cut timber in May, and in July increased it to 60 hryvnias. In total, over three months of the contractor's work, the amount of the bribe amounted to 3 million hryvnias.
According to Ukrainian legislation, the head of the forestry office faces up to 12 years in prison for extorting bribes. Such cases of corruption in the forestry sector harm the environment and cause serious ecological and economic problems.