The Lutsk city district court has sentenced Mykhailo Hnatiuk, head of the state market supervision sector of the State Environmental Inspection in the Volyn region, for corruption. The official demanded and received a bribe of 127,000 UAH from gas station owners to avoid conducting unscheduled inspections. As a result, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison with the confiscation of all his property.
According to the verdict issued on December 2, at the end of July 2019, Mykhailo Hnatiuk met in a restaurant in Lutsk with a representative of LLC "Westwood," to whom he proposed a reward of $3,000 (according to the official exchange rate of the National Bank, this amounts to 77,613 UAH) in exchange for not conducting unscheduled inspections at the company's gas station, the results of which could have led to a suspension of its operations. The representative accepted the offer, and on August 6, 2019, he handed over the entire amount to the accused.
According to the investigation, a few days later, the environmental inspector contacted a representative from another gas station, LLC "Diesel Force," offering a similar deal. However, this time Mykhailo Hnatiuk demanded and received a reward of 50,000 UAH.
In court, Mykhailo Hnatiuk did not admit his guilt. He claimed that conducting inspections of the limited liability companies "Westwood" and "Diesel Force" was beyond his authority, and therefore he could not commit the crime. According to the defendant, gas station representatives contacted him independently and inquired about the possibility of influencing the matter with the management. Mykhailo Hnatiuk also noted that he believes the situation was artificially created by law enforcement. Meanwhile, the evidence obtained during the investigation contradicted his statements.
Judge Yaroslav Artysh found the official guilty under part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (accepting a proposal, promise, or unlawful benefit by a public official) and sentenced him to six years of imprisonment, prohibiting him from holding positions related to the performance of state functions for three years, in addition to the confiscation of all his property. The decision can still be appealed in the appellate court.