Suspicion of corruption

Deputy energy minister arrested in Ukraine

(Bild: APA/AFP/Oleksandr GIMANOV)

Now the next corruption bomb has gone off in Ukraine. The deputy energy minister has been arrested on suspicion of having accepted bribes.

The case allegedly involved the transfer of machinery and equipment from a state-owned coal mine in Donetsk in exchange for a bribe. Half a million US dollars (around 458,000 euros) was given as the bribe amount. The Ukrainian government dismissed the arrested deputy minister Oleksandr Cheilo with immediate effect.

According to the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service, the arrest took place when the money was handed over. Accepting bribes is punishable in Ukraine with a prison sentence of up to twelve years and confiscation of property. Cheilo had held the post of deputy minister since September 2023. He had previously headed the state-owned coal company Ukrvuhillya.

Scandals in the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Agriculture
The fight against corruption is one of Brussels' most important demands of Kiev in the accession talks with the European Union. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, several corruption scandals have been uncovered in the country, including in the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Just a few days ago, the accountant of a company that supplied the Ukrainian army with food, among other things, was caught by investigators. The woman had 4.7 million euros in black money in her trunk.