In early June, Polish law enforcement detained 62-year-old Volodymyr Bedrikivskyi — a retired colonel general of the militia, described by TVP World and Polish National Prosecutor's spokesman Przemyslaw Nowak as a former first deputy minister of internal affairs of Ukraine. Nowak publicly referred to him only as "Volodymyr B.," but Ukrainian media identified the individual based on matching positions: in 2008–2010, Bedrikivskyi held two positions simultaneously — first deputy minister and head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GUBOZ).
What the Polish side accuses him of
According to Nowak, the suspect offered a monetary reward to a government official in Warsaw in early June. The prosecution has not disclosed the bribe amount, the identity of the official, or the purpose of the offer — the investigation, it says, is at an active stage. The court ordered a three-month detention as a preventive measure. He is the only suspect in the case.
"The charges do not concern espionage or sabotage acts"
— Polish National Prosecutor's spokesman Przemyslaw Nowak
This clarification is important: initial reports in Ukrainian media contained suspicions of espionage for Russia and involvement in an organized crime group. The Polish prosecution explicitly refuted these versions, leaving only corruption among the official charges.
Who is Bedrikivskyi
A native of Zaliznychky in Ternopil region, he built his career from the Soviet militia. From 2006–2008, he headed the UMVS in Zhytomyr region, then moved up to the central apparatus of the Interior Ministry. When Yuriy Lutsenko took over the General Prosecutor's Office in 2016, Bedrikivskyi went with him to the GPO and became head of the Department for Supervision of Law Observance in Criminal Proceedings. He was consistently referred to in the media as the GPO's "grey cardinal" and "Lutsenko's wallet."
Journalists from "Schemes" (a joint project of Radio Free Europe and UA:First) described the official's asset profile as early as 2017:
- an estate of 583 sq. m near Kyiv, registered to his 80-year-old mother, who was living in Chernivtsi at the time of publication;
- four additional land plots near a body of water, purchased by the family after 2014;
- his son's apartment of 143 sq. m in central Kyiv and an expensive SUV.
Other biographical details include an award from the UOC Moscow Patriarchate, received in 2007 while leading the Zhytomyr militia, and documented contacts with former MP Andriy Derkach, whom the U.S. Treasury Department added to the sanctions list in 2020 as an "active agent" of Russian intelligence. Recently, according to media reports, Bedrikivskyi was residing permanently abroad.
What remains unknown
The Polish prosecution has not disclosed the amount, the name of the official allegedly offered money, or the motive — whether it was about personal corruption benefits or someone else's interests. The investigation is being conducted by a special group appointed by the general prosecutor: it includes prosecutors from the Mazovian office, as well as employees of the Internal Security Agency and the Central Investigation Bureau. The involvement of special services in an ordinary bribery case is a detail that has not been officially explained.
Bedrikivskyi is to be formally charged by June 12. If Polish investigators fail to uncover the principal and purpose of the bribery within three months of detention, the question will remain unanswered: did the 62-year-old retired general act on his own initiative or as someone's intermediary?
