Two officials of regional departments of the Security Service of Ukraine and their possible intermediary were reported on suspicion of receiving illegal benefits. According to the Prosecutor General, entrepreneurs were offered 600 thousand US dollars for setting up an illegal scheme in the Rivne region related to amber mining. A civilian was used to communicate with the business.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced this on Facebook.
The Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the SBU in Kyiv and Kyiv Region, the Deputy Head of the USBU in Rivne Region, as well as a civilian intermediary were informed of the suspicion.
Results of the arrest of SBU employees on March 16, 2026. Security Service of Ukraine
The three of them are charged with receiving an illegal benefit in a particularly large amount, and the intermediary is additionally charged with complicity in receiving an illegal benefit.
“SBU officials organized a mechanism of pressure on business. They received illegal benefits from enterprises for solving their “problematic issues”. An official of the SBU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv region used criminal proceedings as a source of illegal enrichment,” Ruslan Kravchenko noted.
According to him, an SBU official in Kyiv and the region involved a civilian who communicated with the business and coordinated the transfer of cash.
“It has been established that during meetings in the Rivne region, entrepreneurs were offered an amount of 600 thousand US dollars for the so-called “tariff for quiet work.” In return, they promised to close the criminal proceedings, change the qualification of the case, and not interfere in business activities in the future,” the Prosecutor General informed.
Investigative actions. Facebook Office of the Prosecutor General
Ruslan Kravchenko noted that the illegal benefit was obtained in stages:
“On March 6, the first tranche of $50,000 was transferred in Kyiv as confirmation of the seriousness of the intentions. After that, the businessmen were provided with a “road map” for resolving their problems in criminal proceedings. On March 16, the second tranche of $250,000 was transferred in one of the restaurants in the Kyiv region.”
The deputy head of the USBU in the Rivne region received over 22 thousand US dollars from the entrepreneur through the same intermediary for ensuring unhindered amber mining, the Prosecutor General reported.
“In total, law enforcement officers documented the receipt of over $322,000. The “tariff” of impunity did not work in this story. All three participants were detained, and the money was seized,” the post says.
The three men face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. The investigation is ongoing, and the full range of people involved is being identified.
Suspilne reported on the existence of gray amber mining schemes, the export of stones mined in the Rivne region, and the impact of the amber mining process on the environment in the special project “Billions Underground: Legal Amber.”
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