A scheme involving the illegal departure of men for $7,500 was uncovered in Mykolaiv

The Mykolaiv Central District Court has imposed a preventive measure on a city resident suspected of organizing the illegal smuggling of men of draft age across Ukraine’s state border. He was taken into custody with the right to post bail in the amount of 266,240 hryvnias.

According to the court ruling, investigators allege that the suspect, together with his mother, organized a scheme to illegally transport men to Moldova via the so-called “green corridor.” For smuggling one person, they allegedly demanded $7,500, as well as a 9,500 hryvnia prepayment for fuel, food, and other expenses.

According to the case file, on July 4, during a meeting in Mykolaiv, the woman received $7,500 from a client, after which the man was to be transported by BMW to the Odesa region for a subsequent illegal border crossing. However, law enforcement officers stopped the car en route, and the scheme was uncovered. During a search of the suspects’ residences, law enforcement officers seized the funds received.

The suspect is charged with aiding and abetting the illegal transportation of persons across the state border, committed by a group of individuals acting in prior conspiracy (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

At the court hearing, the man admitted his involvement in the crime but stated that he had acted only as an intermediary and was supposed to transport the client to Odesa, and that he planned to transfer the funds received to other individuals. The defense requested a more lenient pretrial measure, but the court decided to keep the suspect in custody until September 3, 2026, with the possibility of posting bail.

As a reminder, employees of the State Bureau of Investigations have completed a pretrial investigation into officials at one of the district territorial centers for conscription and social support in the Mykolaiv region, who are suspected of unlawfully detaining and torturing a man during mobilization measures.

Андрій Колісніченко