Former deputy head of State Food and Consumer Protection Service in Volyn region sentenced again for taking a bribe

Court approves plea deal

The Lutsk City and District Court has concluded the trial of Ihor Ihorovych Kuzminsky, former deputy head of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Volyn region. The judge approved a plea deal, under which the defendant was found guilty of demanding and receiving a bribe, as stipulated in Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Circumstances of the case: inspection at a gas station

According to the prosecution, the abuses occurred at the end of November – beginning of December 2025. At that time, during an inspection of a shop operated by an individual entrepreneur on the premises of the "MAR" gas station in the village of Syrnyky in Lutsk district, Kuzminsky, together with an accomplice, demanded 100,000 hryvnias.

The perpetrators promised not to create artificial violations regarding the compliance of goods with state standards and not to obstruct business operations. Later, the demanded amount was reduced to 20,000 hryvnias, which was to be paid for a "positive" inspection result without the imposition of fines.

Exposure of the crime and transfer of funds

The entrepreneur's representative reported the extortion to law enforcement agencies and agreed to confidential cooperation. On 8 April 2026, a bribe of 20,000 hryvnias was handed over via an intermediary at the same gas station.

Previous verdict and merging of sentences

This is not the first time Kuzminsky has been held accountable for similar actions. On 23 April 2026, the Lutsk City and District Court had already sentenced him under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to five years of imprisonment and banned him from holding positions in control bodies for three years. At that time, the court applied release from serving the sentence with a two-year probation period.

In the current case, pursuant to a deal with the prosecutor, the court sentenced Kuzminsky to seven years of imprisonment. He was also deprived of the right to hold positions related to state control in the fields of food products, veterinary medicine, and consumer protection for a period of three years. After merging the previous verdict, the final sentence amounted to seven years of imprisonment and a three-year ban on holding certain positions. Confiscation of property was not applied.

Suspended sentence and restrictions

In accordance with Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the court again released Kuzminsky from serving the main sentence, establishing a three-year probation period. For this period, he is obliged to report periodically to the probation service, notify of any change of residence or employment, and is prohibited from leaving Ukraine without permission.

The bail in the amount of 166,400 hryvnias is subject to return to the bail providers. The verdict may be appealed to the Volyn Court of Appeal within 30 days.