The head of the State Labor Service has been charged with a new count in the bribery case
Bogdan Sagaidak, head of the Southwestern Interregional Directorate of the State Labor Service, and three other individuals implicated in the case have been charged with new counts of large-scale bribery. According to investigators, the officials accepted bribes in exchange for documents, inspection results, and even for failing to investigate workplace accidents.
Law enforcement officials say the scheme operated systematically, and in just a few months, they documented nine instances of bribery totaling more than 450,000 hryvnias.
The prosecutor’s office announced new charges in the case involving large-scale bribery at the Southwestern Interregional Directorate of the State Labor Service. Among the suspects are the department’s head, Bohdan Sagaidak, two of his subordinates, and a former employee of the agency who, according to the investigation, helped organize the scheme. According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme was the 41-year-old head of the State Labor Service’s interregional department. He allegedly recruited the head of the inspection department, his deputy, and a former employee who, after being fired, registered as a private entrepreneur.
Investigators determined that in 2024, on the director’s orders, a training center was established to conduct occupational safety courses. In reality, according to law enforcement officials, the training existed only in name. According to the investigation, the commission that tested employees’ knowledge and issued certificates was under the control of the department’s leadership. Business owners could obtain the documents without training or exams by paying between 1,200 and 1,600 hryvnias per employee.
The prosecutor’s office states that the extortion was not limited to certificates. “The criminal group had effectively taken over virtually all operations of the state agency and systematically received bribes from local business owners. They demanded money for practically everything: registering a high-risk facility or an occupational safety declaration, ensuring a positive inspection result, or not conducting an investigation into an accident,” law enforcement officials reported.
According to the investigation, the cost of such “services” depended on the situation. They demanded between 5,000 and 20,000 hryvnias for processing documents or registering hazardous facilities. Workplace accidents were a separate part of the scheme, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The investigation claims that the department head instructed that all emergency reports from hospitals regarding workplace injuries be forwarded only to one of his subordinates. That subordinate would contact business owners through an intermediary and offer to “resolve the issue” for a fee—either by not conducting an investigation at all or by ensuring the commission reached the desired decision.
According to law enforcement, the amount of the bribe in each case was personally determined by the department head. The money was transferred through an intermediary and then distributed among the participants in the scheme. Between March and November 2025 alone, law enforcement documented nine instances of receiving illicit benefits totaling more than 450,000 hryvnias.
Bogdan Sagaydak, head of the inspection department, his deputy, and the director of a controlled enterprise are charged with receiving unlawful benefits as part of an organized group (Part 3 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). If their guilt is proven in court, they face five to ten years in prison, a ban on holding certain positions for up to three years, and confiscation of property.
What is known about Bohdan Sagaidak
Bogdan Sagaidak is a native of Ternopil. Prior to his appointment as head of the Southwestern Interregional Directorate of the State Labor Service, he headed the state-owned enterprise “Ternopil Expert and Technical Center of the State Labor Service.” In 2020, he ran for the Ternopil City Council as a candidate for the “Civic Movement ‘Hvylia’” party but was not elected.
According to data from the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK), in 2025, Sagaydak declared 446,000 hryvnias in salary from the State Labor Service and an additional 427,000 hryvnias in income from the sale of real estate. He also reported 818,000 hryvnias in cash. His wife declared 85,000 hryvnias in salary from Ternopil Expert and Technical Center LLC.
The declaration also indicates that since 2024, the official has been using a Tesla registered to Yevheniia Sagaidak. Most of the family’s real estate is registered in the names of relatives. According to the declaration, his wife owns four apartments, two non-residential premises, a garage in Ternopil, and a 2016 Chevrolet Spark.
Earlier, on June 15, 2026, the court rejected the appeal filed by Bohdan Sagaidak’s defense team and upheld the decision to suspend him from office. However, the officials’ guilt has not yet been proven, and a final decision in the case is to be rendered by the court. This was reported on July 24 by the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv denied the State Bureau of Investigations’ request to freeze 32 million hryvnias seized during searches at the Ukrainian drone manufacturer “Vyriy” (Vyriy Industries). Following the court’s decision, the funds were returned to the company.
