NABU-SAPO accuse an official of a State Water Agency branch and the head of a village council in Odesa Region of receiving bribes for issuing construction permits outside a competitive procedure.

The case concerns Roman Pukalo, head of the Basin Water Resources Management Office for the Black Sea Rivers and the Lower Danube (the Basin Office), and Vadym Boiko, head of the Starokozache Village Council of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District, Odesa Region.

According to the investigation, Pukalo and Boiko, assisted by his trusted associate Borys Burlaka, an official of a State Fisheries Agency branch, received an unlawful benefit of $40,000 from an entrepreneur.

According to the prosecution, the entrepreneur, who provides freight transportation services, approached Pukalo, head of the Basin Office, and offered to lease state property from him to set up a parking lot for trucks. The property was the Dniester Group Water Pipeline facility, which was on the Basin Office's balance sheet and runs along the Odesa–Reni highway.

Pukalo decided to use the entrepreneur's interest to receive unlawful benefits on a regular basis. He told the entrepreneur that to use the property and sign a lease agreement, the entrepreneur would first have to give him an unlawful benefit of UAH 10,000 and would then pay UAH 6,000 in official payments. The entrepreneur then submitted an application to the regional office of the State Property Fund to lease part of the land plot.

Pukalo told the entrepreneur that he could start using the property complex even though the lease agreement had not yet been concluded. The same day, the entrepreneur handed Pukalo and Burlaka UAH 10,000 for the first month of use, and the next day he gained access to the state property.

According to the prosecution, Pukalo also offered the entrepreneur a facility more attractive for his business: the Dniester Group Water Pipeline together with its land plot. To carry out this scheme, he brought in Boiko, head of the Starokozache Village Council. The participants were to arrange the transfer of the property complex from state to municipal ownership and then lease it out. The plan was meant to let the entrepreneur obtain the property and secure the right to use the land plot without an auction.

The individuals in the case set the total unlawful benefit at $40,000. In exchange, they promised to adopt a decision and transfer the water pipeline and the land plot beneath it to the entrepreneur without a competitive procedure.

On June 13, 2024, according to the investigation, the entrepreneur transferred $20,000 through a financial institution. He then traveled to Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, where he handed over another $20,000 for carrying out the actions set out in the scheme. The police then detained Boiko and Burlaka. Pukalo, the scheme's organizer, was detained near Bila Tserkva.

Pukalo's and Boiko's actions were classified under Article 368(1), (4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Pukalo is also charged with inaccurate declaration (Article 366-2(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). In his annual declaration, Pukalo "forgot" to report a residential house, the land plot beneath it, a Porsche Cayenne, and financial liabilities to a leasing company.

Borys Burlaka pleaded guilty and entered into a plea agreement with the investigation, which the HACC later approved. The materials concerning him were severed into separate proceedings. Under the approved agreement, the court sentenced Burlaka to 8 years of imprisonment, with a ban on holding certain positions and confiscation of property. He was, however, released from serving the principal sentence with a 3-year probationary period.