The minister accepted the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices (on behalf of)

Kyiv:

A Ukrainian deputy energy minister accused of taking bribes totaling half a million dollars has been arrested along with three suspected accomplices, the Ukrainian security service SBU said on Monday.

The minister, whose name was not disclosed by the SBU, allegedly demanded money from representatives of the mining industry to transport equipment from mines in the eastern front area of ​​Donetsk to a coal basin in western Ukraine.

“The equipment in question is unique and rare products belonging to a state-owned coal company located in the most active area of ​​the Eastern Front – in Pokrovsk,” the SBU said in a statement.

“In the spring of 2024, industry representatives approached the Deputy Secretary of Energy seeking permission to evacuate the equipment from the war zone and deploy it in mines in a western region,” it said.

“However, the official, whose duties included maintaining the mining equipment, demanded money for its removal,” it said.

The minister accepted the payment with the help of three alleged accomplices, all of whom were caught “red-handed” after the minister accepted part of the bribe, the statement said.

The SBU did not disclose the identities of the four defendants, but published photographs of its officers arresting the suspects, in which their faces were obscured.

But Ukrainian opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak named the minister as Oleksandr Cheilo, a deputy energy minister.

According to a Ukrainian government Telegram channel, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers later issued an order to dismiss Kheilo from his post.

Ukraine, which already suffered from serious corruption problems before the Russian invasion in 2022, has pledged to step up its anti-corruption efforts and reassure its Western military backers as it seeks EU membership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to power on a promise to end corruption and last year fired a number of officials, including his defense minister, due to corruption scandals in the army.

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