Volunteer observers appealed to the director of the Chornomorsk port (Serhiy Kryzhanovskyi) to stop the illegal practice of extracting bribes from long-haul truck drivers. Their investigation uncovered a corruption scheme whereby vehicles queued for the ferry at the Chornomorsk port are moved up the queue based on the amount of bribes paid to officials: for 300-500 hryvnias, they can be placed on the loading dock much faster.
This situation was triggered by the ban on the transit of Ukrainian goods through Russia to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Carriers were forced to rely exclusively on sea ferry transport, which led to a huge backlog of vehicles and, consequently, long waiting times (up to six days). For many drivers, this was unacceptable due to the nature of the cargo, but management was unwilling to accept any complaints or attempt to resolve the situation, a situation that port staff exploited.
According to one driver, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, "If you give a hand to the port staff regulating the queue, you'll get through much faster. Otherwise, you could wait five days for your turn to load." Considering the facts they discovered, the volunteers not only contacted Kryzhanovskyi but also stated the following: "...we appeal to the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Volodymyr Omelyan) and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (Vasyl Hrytsak) with a request to conduct appropriate investigations to document the illegal activities of Chornomorsk Port officials."
SKELET-info
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