Mykolaiv Officials Arrested in Bribery Scheme to Evade Mobilization

Mykolaiv exposed a corruption scheme among officials who received bribes for declaring citizens unfit for service during mobilization. Three suspects, including a police officer and an official of the TCC, were chosen as a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of bail.

According to the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, a group of people who helped to evade mobilization was exposed.

Among the detainees were the acting platoon commander of the Patrol Police Department in Mykolaiv region, the head of the military registration and reservation department of one of the RTCs and JVs, and the head of one of the city's medical institutions.

The investigation established that the suspects acted jointly, having received USD 8 thousand from a citizen for assistance in recognizing him temporarily unfit for military service for health reasons and granting a deferral from conscription during mobilization. In the course of the investigation, the police officer and the TCC official were detained immediately after receiving a part of the USD 3 thousand bribe.

PHOTO: Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office

The detainees were served a notice of suspicion of committing a corruption crime - obtaining an undue advantage by prior conspiracy (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The court imposed on them custody as a measure of restraint, with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 1 million 211 thousand 200 for the police officer and UAH 1 million 59 thousand 800 for the TCC official.

The issue of choosing a measure of restraint for the head of the medical institution is currently being resolved. The sanction of the article under which the defendants are suspected provides for imprisonment for up to 10 years with confiscation of property.

The pre-trial investigation in this case is being carried out by investigators of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Mykolaiv.

Recently, in Mykolaiv, law enforcement officers detained a TCC employee and his accomplice who were extorting money from relatives of mobilized soldiers. The criminals received several thousand dollars for the promise to return the conscript home. In addition, the head of a railway station in Mykolaiv region was fined UAH 17,000 for attempting to bribe a doctor of the military medical commission. A driver who tried to transport men to Moldova for 10 thousand dollars was detained while trying to cross the border.

Анна Бальчінос