Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have pressed charges against Mykola Bobyk, former head of the Western Territorial Administration of the Military Law Enforcement Service, and Ternopil-based developer Yuriy Kurylo over a $2.2 million corruption scheme. Investigators allege the Armed Forces official demanded bribes in exchange for permitting multi-storey residential construction on military land in Lviv.
Law enforcement established that the scheme originated in March 2021. While serving as head of the law enforcement division and commander of the Lviv military site, Mykola Bobyk offered the developer a plot near Horodotska, Shevchenka, and Yaroslava Mudroho streets. The official priced his «services» to secure the necessary construction agreement at $2.2 million.
NABU detectives documented cash transfers totaling $2 million between March 2021 and July 2023. Several accomplices were also brought in to execute the illicit transaction.
«As part of the bribe, the developer was to transfer property rights free of charge for an unfinished apartment in the ‘Krakivskyi’ residential complex, located directly opposite the military unit,» according to High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) rulings.
As part of the investigation, the High Anti-Corruption Court seized property belonging to the 62-year-old developer, Yuriy Kurylo, which was confiscated during searches of his residence.
All participants in the scheme have been formally notified of suspicion regarding bribery on an especially large scale under Articles 368, 369, and 27 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. If convicted, the suspects face substantial prison sentences alongside the confiscation of property.