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Ukrzaliznytsia Official Arrested Over $100,000 Bribe to Dismantle Rail Track

Prosecutors say the case exposes a staged plan to scrap a rail line to free land for a community quarry.

Overview

  • Operatives from the National Police’s strategic investigations unit and the State Bureau of Investigations detained the deputy director of Ukrzaliznytsia’s environmental safety department as he accepted $100,000 in cash.
  • Investigators say he sought the money to remove and write off a rail track that blocked a granite producer’s expansion in the Khmelnytskyi region.
  • According to prosecutors, the plan started with a “seasonal inspection” to label the line unprofitable, then moved to dismantling, deregistration, and transfer of the land to the local community for quarry use.
  • Officers seized the cash and a handwritten IOU during a personal search and later searched the suspect’s home, office, and car.
  • Prosecutors served suspicion under Part 4 Article 368, filed a motion for pretrial detention, and said the probe continues as they check other possible episodes and people.