Law enforcement officials have uncovered large-scale corruption schemes within the Territorial Service Centers (TSC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in Kyiv, which operate under the direct command of Pavlo Soroka. Under the guise of digitalizing public services, officials and intermediaries allegedly established a paid system to bypass the electronic «e-Cherha» (e-Queue) for vehicle registration, while also forcing citizens to pay inflated transaction fees through a private bank.
An investigation into TSC №8046 documented a mechanism used to artificially block public access to services. By intentionally creating a shortage of available tickets in the «e-Cherha» system, citizens were offered a way to «speed up» the vehicle registration process for a fee.
The cost for expedited processing through civilian intermediaries was 5,500 UAH. Clients sent the required vehicle registration documents via WhatsApp, and a service center administrator completed the procedure the following day. For each transaction, the official received a fixed bribe of 700 UAH. Following the exposure of the scheme, the head of this specific center, Ihor Koshelnyk, resigned from his position.
In parallel, investigative actions have focused on financial operations inside the service centers. According to the investigation, visitors to the MIA TSCs are effectively deprived of alternative payment methods for state fees and are systematically directed to the service counters of JSC «Crystalbank.»
As a result, citizens are forced to overpay by 10% to 15% in additional bank commissions for each public service, charges that are not stipulated by law. Out of 25 existing branches of this bank, 17 operate directly inside TSC buildings across Ukraine.
From the investigation materials: «Formally, the management of the service centers claims that the financial institution merely leases government property. However, the guaranteed flow of clients and the lack of alternative payment options indicate a pre-arranged, coordinated scheme.»
Journalists and investigators have highlighted the background of the TSC’s financial partner. Prior to 2014, the institution operated under the name «Terra Bank» and was linked to the inner circle of former President Viktor Yanukovych. Following its liquidation, «Crystalbank» was established on its foundation and integrated into the MIA structure immediately after the reform of the former MREVs (Interdistrict Registration and Examination Departments).
Experts note that isolated personnel changes, such as the resignation of individual mid-level managers, do not resolve the underlying issue. Because these illicit financial streams remain deeply integrated into the service centers’ operations, eliminating these non-transparent mechanisms will require a complete overhaul and restructuring of the territorial service center system.