Border guard in Odesa region sentenced to two years for extortion of bribes

The Bilyaevsky District Court of Odesa Oblast found a Border Guard Service inspector guilty of taking a bribe and sentenced him to up to two years in prison.

As stated in the court's verdict, in early December 2024, he told a carrier that he would take a bribe of USD 300 for each person liable for military service who would be transported through the transit section of the Odesa-Reni highway.

In return for this money, he promised not to interfere with the travel of these people. Realizing that if he did not agree to the border guard's offer, he would lose money, he agreed and subsequently paid the inspector 600 USD and let the Orel car, which, together with the carrier, carried persons liable for military service who had no legal grounds for traveling on the specified transit road, through. He then received another $1.2 thousand, and later another $1.8 thousand.

At the court hearing, the accused border guard pleaded guilty and confirmed the circumstances set out in the indictment. He repented of his actions.

Earlier, a sergeant of the Security Service of Ukraine in Odesa region was convicted of taking a bribe to defer mobilization. He was fined and will remain on bail until October 2025. Law enforcement officers exposed the chief sergeant of the Security Service of Ukraine in Odesa region, who promised to help in obtaining a deferral from mobilization in exchange for a bribe of 20,000 hryvnias.

The court also imposed a pre-trial restraint on an official of the Odesa Customs suspected of extortion and receiving an unlawful benefit. The suspect, using her official position, demanded and received over UAH 270 thousand from a representative of two companies.

Кирило Бойко