'Beautiful' plates for bribes: a service centre employee and a middleman will be tried in Kyiv — what this means for trust in the Interior Ministry
An employee of a service center in the capital and his accomplice were selling government-issued license plates with desired number combinations via Instagram — priced from UAH 8,500 to USD 3,500. We examine how the scheme worked, why it was exposed, and what steps are needed to restore trust in the system.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
March 26, 2026 · 2 min read
What happened
The Podilskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv has sent an indictment to court against an employee of one of the capital’s service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and his accomplice. According to the investigation, they provided drivers with the opportunity to obtain state license plates with "nice" number combinations for an additional fee.
"The pre‑trial investigation established that one of the suspects created and administered an Instagram page where drivers could choose state license plates with attractive number combinations: 1010, 1100, 0300, 0400, 0600, 0090, 0444, 1110, 1133, 1313, 1616, 1818, 1777 and others. The service center employee, using his official position, ensured the issuance of the required license plates to customers,"
— Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office
How the scheme worked
The scheme combined three elements: online selection via the Instagram page, official payment through the service center, and an additional proxy authorization to the middleman for the desired combination. If the 'reward' was not paid, the selected number on the official website would be marked as taken.
Cost
According to the prosecutor's office, the price of a plate depended on the combination and ranged from 8,500 hryvnias to 3,500 US dollars. The scheme was uncovered, and the suspects were notified of suspicion in June 2025.
Legal classification
The defendants' actions have been classified as receipt of an unlawful benefit by an official by prior conspiracy of a group of persons (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The case will now go to court, where the amount of evidence and the degree of involvement of each suspect must be established.
Why this matters
This story is not just about a few specific plates. It is about a systemic risk: when digital services are not adequately protected and control procedures are formalistic, space opens up for corruption. Analysts from anti‑corruption projects stress that cases of this kind have undermined trust in the reformed service delivery system and give ammunition to those who question the effectiveness of the changes.
What’s next
Exposure and referral of the case to court is the first step. To minimize recurrence, concrete measures are needed: strengthening digital controls over the allocation of license plates, independent audits of procedures in service centers, and transparent complaint mechanisms for citizens. This is not only a matter of morality — it is a matter of state efficiency and trust, which comes at a high price.
Whether this case will become a catalyst for tighter controls depends on the determination of law enforcement and the service market, which should have an interest in transparency. Without changes, such risks will remain.
