The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have exposed a former judge from the Cherkasy Region for extorting a bribe.
According to the SBU website, the ex-judge, acting as a lawyer, tried to derail the construction of a transit parking area for Ukrainian Armed Forces combat vehicles in central Ukraine.
The investigation found that the lawyer demanded 10% of the total amount stipulated in the contract for building the defensive facility. If the business owner refused, the former judge threatened to use personal connections to carry out physical violence against the contractor and his family.
The SBU clarified, that until 2016 the suspect worked as a judge at the Uman City and District Court and had already been implicated in criminal proceedings related to bribery.
The lawyer has been served with a notice of suspicion for extortion committed under martial law and is being held in custody. He faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.