Case description
On December 21, 2021, the HACC found Serhii Zhurman, former head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, guilty of extorting USD 10,000 from a resident for changing the intended purpose of a land plot. He got a 5-year suspended sentence with additional penalties.
Serhii Zhurman is the former head of the Chernihiv District State Administration and a member of the Chernihiv Regional Council. In 2020, he demanded first USD 5,000 and then USD 10,000 in bribes from a local for the approval of a detailed territory plan and the subsequent change of the intended purpose of a 6-hectare land plot located in Chernihiv region
Upon hearing this demand, the resident turned to law enforcement officers. Zhurman was detained while receiving money near the Prydesnyanskyi Hotel in Chernihiv.
The former official's actions were classified under Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Zhurman concluded a plea agreement and got a 5-year suspended sentence with a 3-year probationary period and a 3-year ban from holding certain positions.