Court in Odesa region fined man three times as much for bribing border guards

The Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa Oblast found a native of Azerbaijan guilty of attempting to bribe a border guard and sentenced him to a fine.

According to the court' s verdict, on April 1, at approximately 18:00, the convict, while at the Starokozache checkpoint, decided to bribe a border guard to allow his friend to drive his Kia to Ukraine.

The man provided the lieutenant with a cash reward in the amount of USD 200 in USD 100 bills, which as of April 1 was equal to UAH 8,783. In return, the border guard was to let his friend through, who had no reason to do so but planned to work in Ukraine without permits.

At the court hearing, the defendant pleaded guilty in full, sincerely repented of his actions and explained that he had indeed approached the official of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine while waiting in line for a Kia car and provided a monetary reward of USD 100 and two bills, putting them in his passport.

The court decided that a fine of 25,500 hryvnias, which is 2.9 times more than the bribe offered, would be enough. The man got his phones back, but the money he gave as a bribe was confiscated in favor of the state.

In March, the Khadzhybeyskyi District Court of Odesa approved a plea agreement on the offer of an illegal benefit between a Moldovan citizen and a prosecutor. The man admitted that he had tried to bribe an official and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment without confiscation of property.

However, under an agreement with the prosecutor, he was released from serving his sentence with a probationary period of one year.

Кирило Бойко