An organized criminal group among members of parliament in Ukraine has been uncovered, suspected of conducting paid voting in parliament for monetary rewards.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Case and Participants’ Roles
Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, in collaboration with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, established that a group of members of parliament and officials from the Verkhovna Rada apparatus systematically received illegal benefits for ensuring the passage of necessary votes during sessions. According to the investigation, one of the current members of parliament acted as the organizer of the group’s activities, coordinating its work.
The NABU clarified that the group had a hierarchical structure and a clear division of responsibilities. To organize the process, the participants created a special group in the WhatsApp messenger, where they sent out the numbers of bills and corresponding voting instructions. After the votes were conducted, certain MPs received monetary rewards.
Suspects and Further Actions
According to investigators, five members of the Ukrainian parliament are currently under suspicion. All of them have already been served with motions for the imposition of preventive measures within the framework of the criminal proceedings.
“NABU and SAP have notified the participants of the organized criminal group operating in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine about their suspicion, which ensured that members of parliament received illegal benefits for ‘necessary’ votes,” the statement reads.
The investigation is ongoing, with the collection of additional evidence and the identification of all individuals involved in the corruption scheme continuing.