Former head of department of "Ukrtransbezpeka" in Kyiv convicted for bribery

Former head of department of "Ukrtransbezpeka" in Kyiv convicted for bribery

The former acting head of the Northern Interregional Directorate of "Ukrtransbezpeka", Ihor Sabadash, was convicted for bribery.

The editors of 368.media learned about this from the verdict of the Golosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code.

The man also held the position of head of the Department of State Control over transport safety in Kyiv of the Northern Interregional Directorate of Ukrtransbezpeka.

In March 2021, the official began regularly checking the same carrier. The driver of the route in the direction of the Pochayna metro station - Vyshgorod (KenPak LLC) did not have a route passport. The carrier argued that these are irregular passenger services, they deliver workers to the enterprise and therefore a route passport is not required.

From the end of March to the beginning of April, the official checked this bus almost every day (four times), found the same violations, but did not draw up an inspection report. He left his phone number with the driver so that the owner can call him back.

The entrepreneur allegedly agreed that he would pay $50 a month for four buses so that they would not be checked. He then claimed that he gave the Ukrtransbezpeka representative $200. But he didn’t like the behavior of the official who was constantly bragging about what acts he was writing out and what fines there would be, so he turned to law enforcement.

In June 2021, as part of control over the commission of a crime, the entrepreneur gave the accused $200 and about a week later another $500 for not checking 15 buses.

At the trial, Sabadash pleaded not guilty and asked to be acquitted, although he did not actually deny receiving the funds. He said that he organized several inspection raids to confirm the regularity of transportation. And then the entrepreneur allegedly provoked him, and he was tempted. In addition, the man promised him information about the illegal activities of other carriers. He never received money from him before.

Given the discrepancies in the documents and testimony of the accused and witnesses, the court did not establish what mode of transportation of passengers the entrepreneur had, but this was not the subject of the trial. Meanwhile, according to the court, the defendant could have taken advantage of such disagreements to create artificial obstacles in business activities by starting to check the same carrier. The official created conditions when the entrepreneur had to contact him and negotiate. The court also took into account the fact that he left his phone number with the driver so that he would give it to the owner of the bus, initiating their contact.

The content of the conversations indicates that there was a certain degree of friendly relations between the accused and the applicant. The official talks about his inspections of carriers in Boyarka, and what he can do if the carrier does not want to negotiate with him. He asked the entrepreneur if he had any competitors and offered the service of “overwhelming a competitor.” The court rejected the defense’s arguments regarding provocation of a bribe.

Sabadash was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison with confiscation of property. Additionally, he was prohibited from holding positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative functions for a period of 3 years.

The accused remains at large for now because the verdict has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed.