The mayor of Sumy and chief of the city council’s infrastructure department were arrested when receiving the last tranche of a Hr 2.13 million ($58,000) bribe, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Oct. 2.

The law enforcement agency didn’t name the suspects, but it’s known from open sources that Oleksandr Lysenko has held the position of mayor of Sumy since 2014, while Oleksandr Zhurba heads the infrastructure department.

According to the SBU, the officials demanded a bribe from a local company involved in garbage disposal, threatening to obstruct the business in case the company refused to pay.

The suspects allegedly received the bribe in tranches from November 2022 to October 2023, with the last payment of around $38,000 taken on Oct. 2, adds the report.

If convicted, the officials might face up to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

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