The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor-General's Office detained during a joint operation in Kyiv an arbitration manager for the extortion of 600,000 dollars, the SBU said in a statement on Thursday, 10 August. The official was appointed by the economic court of Kyiv Region as liquidator at one of the enterprises of the region, which is undergoing bankruptcy procedures.
After that, the suspect together with the director of the bankrupt company and an accomplice demanded a 600,000-dollar bribe from a businessman.
"The culprits said that the sum guaranteed the admission of a businessman to the auction and victory in the competition," the report said.
The two suspects were detained in central Kyiv during the receipt of the "first instalment" of 30,000 dollars. Simultaneously, the organizer of the transaction, the arbitration manager, was detained in the capital.
A court will decide on the form of pre-trial custody for the suspects. A pre-trial investigation is underway, the report said.
In late July, a deputy head of an NGO was caught extorting 1.5m hryvnyas.