Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Oleksandr Khailo, was arrested for taking a $500,000 bribe

In Kyiv, the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine was detained for accepting a bribe of half a million dollars.

This was reported by the press service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which also published photos and videos from the scene of the arrest.

According to the investigation, the official demanded money from the head of a coal enterprise in Western Ukraine in exchange for allowing the removal of mining equipment from a frontline area with the possibility of its further use.

Media sources indicate that the official in question is Oleksandr Khaylo, who was dismissed from his position by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine immediately after the news broke.

The case also involves the head of an energy company from the Mykolaiv region and the director of a state-owned coal enterprise in the Donetsk region.

Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released more details about the arrest. It was noted that the Minister of Energy personally assisted in exposing his subordinate.

According to the SBU, representatives of the coal industry had approached the Deputy Minister to obtain permission to evacuate unique and scarce equipment from a state-owned mine in the Pokrovske area, where active Russian military operations are ongoing. However, the official demanded a bribe in return for promising the leaders of state enterprises in the Lviv-Volyn coal basin unhindered access to this mining equipment.

He involved accomplices in his scheme, through whom the money was transferred. Authorities are currently deciding on pre-trial measures for all four suspects.