Tax Office corruption: officials caught extorting bribes from businesses (PHOTOS)
NABU and SAPO have exposed a scheme involving the systematic receipt of undue advantages from local companies at the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in the Ternopil region.
According to the investigation, the deputy head of the directorate and the head of one of its territorial units established a mechanism for personal enrichment by manipulating tax audit results. They would identify allegedly multi-million-hryvnia violations and offer to significantly reduce the penalty amounts in the official documents.
During the spring and summer of 2026, the perpetrators received EUR 75,000 in bribes from a representative of two enterprises.
In June, the tax officials demanded an 11.5% kickback from another company in exchange for an unhindered VAT refund amounting to over UAH 14.6 million.
The crime was exposed during the transfer of the bribe through an intermediary. The deputy head of the STS Main Directorate in the Ternopil region and her subordinate were detained pursuant to Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
The issue of serving them with a notice of suspicion under Part 4 Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is currently being arranged.
The involvement of other officials from the STS Main Directorate in the Ternopil region in the crime is being investigated.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.
