In Odessa, a former law enforcement officer was sent to a pretrial detention center for influencing the TCC

In Odesa, a man was taken into custody for extorting $18,000 in exchange for arranging a fraudulent disability designation and removing a person subject to military service from the military registry. 

The Kyiv District Court of Odessa issued the ruling on October 29.

According to the investigation, the man offered to help a person subject to military conscription obtain a third-degree disability classification. To do so, he allegedly promised to negotiate with officials from the expert team responsible for assessing a person’s daily functioning, which makes decisions regarding the determination of disability.

After receiving the medical report, the man was to be removed from the military registry through his influence on officials at the Territorial Recruitment Center.

Initially, the suspect quoted a price of approximately $20,000 for his services. During the meeting, the parties negotiated a price of $18,000. Half of that amount was to be paid to influence the decision of the medical expert team, and the remainder—for removal from military registration. The man who was offered this service contacted law enforcement and subsequently cooperated with the investigation.

In late October, the conscript handed over $9,000 to the intermediary. Immediately afterward, law enforcement officers detained the man and notified him that he was suspected of abuse of influence.

The next day, the investigator filed a motion with the court to remand the suspect in custody. The man objected to this preventive measure and requested that he be placed under nighttime house arrest. His attorney cited the defendant’s permanent residence, family, child, and health condition.

However, the judge ruled that house arrest would not prevent the risks of the suspect absconding or influencing witnesses. Among other factors, the judge took into account that the suspect had previously worked in law enforcement and knew the complainant.

As a result, the man was taken into custody. At the same time, the judge set bail at 665,600 hryvnias. The pretrial investigation is ongoing.

Анна Літман