Case description
On March 4, 2024, the HACC found former director of VMS-10 LLC Vasyl Velychko guilty of committing a crime and fined him UAH 51,000. The entrepreneur offered UAH 200,000 as a bribe to the commander of the Odesa operational group of troops for permission to fish for biological resources in the border zone.
Vasyl Velychko admitted his guilt and explained that he had time to think about his behavior and its consequences. During the period of martial law, part of the lake was closed for the exit of vessels. Therefore, for a long time, people who worked at VMS-10 LLC could not work in that part of the lake.
After some time, he met with the assistant commander of the Odesa operational and strategic grouping of troops and offered him a bribe for granting permission for vessels to enter the northern part of the lake. In November 2023, he handed over the money and was detained.
The actions of the accused were classified under Art. 369(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Velychko was fined UAH 51,000, and the court confiscated the entire amount of the bribe and charged UAH 340,000 from the LLC's accounts. The firm also transferred a million hryvnias to the needs of the Armed Forces.