US$500,000 bribe in coal sector: 2024 case against former deputy energy minister sent to court

The case of Oleksandr Kheilo, the former deputy energy minister accused of taking a bribe in exchange for granting permission to remove mining equipment from a frontline area of Donetsk Oblast, has been referred to court by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

Source: press services of NABU and SAPO

Details: The investigators established that Kheilo, acting in collusion with the head of one of the state-owned coal facilities in Donetsk Oblast and other individuals, offered a bribe of US$500,000 to the adviser to the head of another coal company in the Lviv-Volyn coal basin. In return, they promised to place mining equipment in storage and allow it to be used for coal extraction.

"Essentially, this was about evacuating mining equipment from the combat zone and using it at mines in the western region," NABU and SAPO said.

The money was to be handed over in five instalments of US$100,000 each.

The Energy Ministry official and his accomplices were detained after the third instalment, which brought the total bribe to US$300,000.

SAPO noted that two accomplices of Kheilo have been handed criminal convictions.

Background:

• Oleksandr Kheilo was detained in Kyiv in 2024 while taking a US$500,000 bribe.
• The Cabinet of Ministers appointed Kheilo as deputy to Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko on 1 September 2023.

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