NABU exposes bribery scheme at Ternopil Oblast tax office, two officials detained
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) exposed a systematic bribery scheme at the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil Oblast. Two senior officials — a deputy head of the regional tax administration and a head of one of its territorial units — were detained after being caught receiving a bribe through an intermediary. They face up to 12 years in prison under Ukraine's Criminal Code.
Key points
- NABU and SAP exposed officials of the Ternopil Oblast tax administration suspected of systematically extorting bribes from local businesses.
- The suspects are the deputy head of the regional tax office and the head of one of its territorial units.
- The officials allegedly fabricated multimillion-hryvnia audit violations and offered to reduce the penalties in exchange for kickbacks.
- During spring and summer 2026, the suspects received €75,000 in improper benefit from a representative of two enterprises.
- In June 2026, they demanded an 11.5% kickback (over 1.6 million hryvnias) from a company in exchange for an unobstructed VAT budget refund of more than 14.6 million hryvnias.
- The officials were detained during a transfer of the bribe through an intermediary and notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
- NABU is checking the possible involvement of other Ternopil Oblast tax officials in the scheme.
Why it matters
The case points to alleged systemic corruption inside a regional tax administration, where senior officials allegedly manufactured audit findings to extract bribes from businesses. The involvement of a deputy head and a territorial unit head suggests the scheme reached the leadership of the Ternopil tax office. NABU's exposure of the operation underscores ongoing anti-corruption enforcement against Ukraine's tax authorities, a sector long considered vulnerable to rent-seeking.
What happened
On 15 September 2026, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) announced that they had exposed a systematic bribery scheme at the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil Oblast. According to the investigation, tax officials fabricated multimillion-hryvnia violations during audits and then offered to significantly reduce the documented penalties in exchange for bribes. During the spring and summer of 2026, the suspects received €75,000 in improper benefit from a representative of two enterprises. In a separate episode in June 2026, the officials demanded an 11.5% kickback — over 1.6 million hryvnias — from a company in exchange for allowing an unobstructed VAT budget refund of more than 14.6 million hryvnias. The suspects, identified as the deputy head of the Ternopil Oblast tax administration and the head of one of its territorial units, were detained during a transfer of the bribe through an intermediary. They were notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 368 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (receiving a bribe), which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. NABU said it is checking whether other Ternopil Oblast tax officials were involved in the scheme.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian media framed the story as an anti-corruption exposé centered on NABU's action against regional tax officials, emphasizing the criminal nature of the scheme and the scale of the bribes demanded.