The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has announced that it has exposed an MP for attempting to bribe a top official with bitcoin.
"The People's Deputy of Ukraine, a member of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, offered the head of the State Agency for Infrastructure Restoration and Development an illegal benefit in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, equivalent to $50,000, the statement said.
It is noted that in exchange for the money, the MP asked for assistance in obtaining money from the fund for the elimination of the consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation for the repair of the infrastructure facility under his control.
The NABU reports that after the allocation of money from the fund, the first tranche of the unlawful benefit in the equivalent of $10,000 was transferred to the crypto wallet of the whistleblower.
The agency also notes that this is the first cryptocurrency bribe ever documented by anti-corruption agencies.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to Ukrainian media sources, it is Andriy Odarchenko, a member of the Servant of the People faction.
For its part, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said it had served the MP with a notice of suspicion.