Corruption is Everywhere > Ukrainian police chiefs arrested for receiving bribes from porn studios

 

Ukrainian police bosses detained in porn probe

Adult content producers allegedly paid monthly bribes to keep their illegal operations from being investigated

Published 20 May, 2026 13:04 | Updated 20 May, 2026 14:05

Money seized by Ukrainian investigators during raids on suspected corrupt police officials. ©  Telegram / Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

Senior Ukrainian police officials have been detained on suspicion of accepting regular bribes from underground porn studios.

Among the high-ranking law enforcement figures arrested on Wednesday in western Ukraine were the police chief of Ivano-Frankovsk Region and his deputy, as well as deputy police chiefs from the Ternopol and Zhitomir regions, authorities said.

A fifth suspect works in the Interior Ministry’s garage and served as a personal driver for a deputy minister, officials said. Investigators allege that he acted as an intermediary and money courier in the corruption scheme.

The anti-graft operation, carried out by several agencies together with the National Police’s internal investigations division, targeted the production of adult content, an illegal but reportedly thriving industry in Ukraine. The suspects are accused of receiving monthly payments of around $25,000 per studio in exchange for shielding porn producers from law enforcement scrutiny.

©  Telegram / Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

Investigators seized six luxury cars, five expensive Swiss watches, and cash worth roughly $510,000 while executing search warrants connected to the case, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

©  Telegram / Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

Opinion polls have suggested that widespread government corruption is seen by many Ukrainians as an even greater threat to the country than the conflict with Russia. Last week, Andrey Yermak, a former chief of staff to Vladimir Zelensky, was arrested in a money-laundering case. He was released on Monday after backers posted bail of $3.2 million on his behalf.

Yermak is linked to a broader investigation into an alleged criminal network said to have been led by Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelensky who fled Ukraine last November shortly before being indicted.

READ MORE: How much? NATO chief calls for ‘Ukraine tax’ bigger than members’ economies

Zelensky has also faced corruption allegations, but his continued claim to presidential authority under martial law, despite his term expiring two years ago, has shielded him from potential prosecution.

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Israel's Health Czar Suspected of Bribery in Australian Principal Child Sex Abuse Case

Corruption is Everywhere - But in the Israeli government?

Yaakov Litzman suspected of accepting bribes related to alleged attempts to influence psychiatrist's assessment that prevented extradition of accused pedophile Malka Leifer

Ronny Linder-Ganz 

File photo: Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman 

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman is suspected of taking a bribe for allegedly attempting to prevent the extradition of an accused pedophile to Australia, according to Channel 13 News.

According to a report published on the weekend by Channel 13’s Baruch Kra, Litzman is suspected of accepting a bribe to influence a psychiatric evaluation of accused pedophile Malka Leifer that would prevent her extradition.

Litzman has been questioned over the past two months (7th story on link) on suspicion that he and his aides threatened senior psychiatrists to change their evaluation of Leifer. The psychiatrists told the police that they were pressured to the point of hints that the outcome would be bad for them if they did not cooperate.

Leifer, a former principal of an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne, has been charged with 74 counts of rape and sexual assault. She fled to Israel in 2008.

The police are also investigating Litzman’s alleged interference in the case of a sexual offender close to the Gerrer Hasidic group, by pressuring a psychiatrist to evaluate the offender as low risk, although he had not taken responsibility for his actions. Such an evaluation would mean that the offender would not be subject to close supervision and would allow him to join a rehabilitation program so he can have furloughs from prison.

Malka Leifer is facing possible extradition on 74 counts of suspected sexual abuse. She was the headmistress of an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne and fled to Israel in 2008  Mahmoud Illean/AP

Litzman, who is also chairman of United Torah Judaism, is one of three party leaders suspected of criminal actions, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who are expected to join the new government coalition. Netanyahu, who is chairman of Likud, is facing three indictments pending hearings on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the lavish gifts affair, the favorable coverage affair and the Bezeq-Walla affair. The head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Interior Minister Arye Dery, is expected to be indicted for tax fraud.