One year for systemic corruption: how former Volyn RSA official Kukharyk received a lenient sentence by pretending to be unemployed

One year for systemic corruption: how former Volyn RSA official Kukharyk received a lenient sentence by pretending to be unemployed

Former head of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of Volyn Regional State Administration Valentyn Kukharyk received a one-year suspended sentence for corrupt actions.

He was found guilty of demanding and receiving bribes for signing permits for the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, as became known from the verdict of the Lutsk City-District Court.

The criminal case against Valentyn Kukharyk has been under investigation since the end of 2023. Court documents state that the head of the Ecology Department of Volyn Regional State Administration, Valentyn Kukharyk, developed a scheme for illegal enrichment as early as the beginning of 2023. After identifying who most frequently applied for permits for pollutant emissions, the official set a "target" for himself.

«After analyzing the most in-demand designers in the Volyn region who provide services for developing design documentation in the field of ecology, submit design documents, and have the largest number of clients, he singled out a private entrepreneur, who was also the director of the design organization LLC «VolynEcopromProject», as a prospective person for demanding illicit benefits,» – the verdict states.

In the summer of 2023, the director of «VolynEcopromProject» submitted documents to the department for obtaining permits for eight companies and organizations. Kukharyk twice refused to grant them, citing minor reasons and loopholes in the legislation. After the entrepreneur corrected the indicated deficiencies and submitted the documents for the third time, the head of the department, through a subordinate, arranged a meeting with him. During the meeting near the building of the Volyn Regional State Administration on Kyiv Square, the official set a condition for the businessman: 1,200 hryvnias for each design documentation. He allegedly emphasized that without this, no permit would be approved.

The director of the company transferred bribes to the official three times between August and October 2023: first, 14,000 hryvnias for approving 14 permits, then 18,000 hryvnias for 12 permits, and finally 19,000 hryvnias for 15 permits. Kukharyk did not take the money directly into his hands, instead asking each time to place it in the armrest of his Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. During one of the meetings, the official established a new «rate»: 1,000 hryvnias per permit for third-group enterprises and 2,000 hryvnias for second-group ones.

During the receipt of the last tranche, Kukharyk was detained by law enforcement officers.

Ultimately, he admitted his guilt, entering into an agreement with the prosecutor on February 20, 2026.

The Lutsk City-District Court approved the plea agreement and sentenced the official to 8 years of imprisonment with a one-year ban on holding positions in state and local government bodies. However, he was released from serving the actual sentence, with a probationary period of one year set. Additionally, he is obliged to pay over 40,000 hryvnias for the conducted expert examinations.

In rendering the verdict, the court took into account that the accused has the status of a second-group disabled person, has a minor child, no prior convictions, and that Kukharyk transferred one million hryvnias to support the Defence Forces of Ukraine. Such a contribution by the former official seems unusual, as in April 2024, the accused requested a public defender, explaining to the court that he is unemployed and lacks funds for a private attorney.