Ukraine’s ex-ecology minister donates UAH 850 million to Armed Forces as part of plea deal

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) shared the update on Telegram.

Under the deal, the court found the former Minister guilty of committing a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 27, Part 1 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

A plea deal  was concluded with the former minister.

"The pleading guilty to the criminal offense charged, the absence of material damage caused as a result of the criminal offense charged, as well as the existence of a public interest in ensuring a speedy trial that will ensure full, timely and inevitable punishment of the person, were taken into account," the SAPO said in a statement.

The defendant paid UAH 500 million to help the Ukrainian military Army of Drones project. He also provided assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the form of equipment worth over UAH 160 million.

In addition, the court sentenced him to an agreed basic punishment in the form of a fine of 4,000 non-taxable minimum incomes.

The SAPO adds that the case of the attempted bribe transfer from the former Minister of Ecology became one of the largest donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The pre-trial investigation into the attempted transfer of a record bribe to the leadership of anti-corruption bodies was conducted in two criminal proceedings. The first one concerned the participants who were directly involved in organizing the transfer of the bribe. The second concerned the former Minister of Ecology, on whose behalf there was an attempt to transfer a record bribe," prosecutors wrote.

As a result, UAH 805.5 million was transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of two criminal proceedings. The funds were allocated to:

• UAH 174.1 million for the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

• UAH 600 million for the Army of Drones project by UNITED 24;

• UAH 31.4 million to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the NBU account.

Mykola Zlochevskyi was the Minister of Environmental Protection (later - Ecology and Natural Resources) from June 2010 to April 2012. Then, until 26 February 2014, he was the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council under Andriy Kliuyev.

• As a reminder, on 12 May 2020, National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) detectives documented an attempted bribe by a former high-ranking official to the Bureau's management and the head of the SAPO, Nazar Kholodnytskyi.

• National Anti-Corruption Bureau Director Artem Sytnyk said that three confidants of former Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevsky had been detained in the case of bribery of the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Nazar Kholodnytskyi.

• On 1 July, Zlochevsky was served with a notice of suspicion of organizing a $5 million bribe to the heads of the SAPO and NABU.

• The National Anti-Corruption Bureau put former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mykola Zlochevsky on the wanted list. On 17 August, the Anti-Corruption Court arrested Zlochevsky in absentia.

• In October 2021, the Zlochevsky family gave up their hydrocarbon production licenses.

• In April 2022, the High Anti-Corruption Court lifted the seizure of funds in the criminal proceedings over an attempt to bribe the leadership of anti-corruption bodies for $6 million and transferred them to the army.