Military detained in Odesa for bribe of 45 thousand

Odesa police detained an official of a military unit on suspicion of abuse of influence to help men who left the unit without permission.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa region.

According to the investigation, the 37-year-old deputy commander for psychological support of the personnel of a military unit in Odesa region guaranteed to help two servicemen who had left the place of service without permission to be reinstated, promising to appoint them to appropriate positions in the military unit and not to prosecute them for HRW.

According to the detainee, he could resolve such issues by influencing prosecutors and the leadership of the military unit. For his help, the official demanded a total of 45 thousand hryvnias from the military, and in case of non-payment, he threatened to prevent them from being reinstated in service and bring them to criminal liability.

Police and SBU officers detained the official in a procedural order after he received the agreed amount of bribe. Investigators have now served him with a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - obtaining an unlawful benefit to influence a decision by a person authorized to perform public functions, combined with extortion of such benefit.

The maximum sentence facing the offender is eight years in prison with confiscation of property. The court imposed on him a preventive measure in the form of detention with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 242.2 thousand.

Кирило Бойко