Ukraine exposes $3.5 million bribery scheme targeting anti-corruption prosecutors and judges

Ukrainian authorities claim that they have concluded an investigation into a former prosecutor with Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office and a team of lawyers who are believed to have orchestrated a $3.5 million scheme to buy off the country’s elite anti-corruption prosecutors and judges.

The results of the investigation have paved the way for a trial.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the group targeted a suspect in an active corruption investigation. The former prosecutor and the lawyers allegedly promised they could make the case disappear by using the money to bribe prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and judges at the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The massive sum they requested was designed to be paid in installments. Authorities exposed the scheme and brought criminal charges for inciting bribery after the former prosecutor had already pocketed an initial $200,000 down payment from the suspect.