Odesa Border Control Chief Detained for $3,000 Bribery Scheme

The head of a group of border control inspectors was detained for bribery in Odesa region. The official was served a notice of suspicion of receiving illegal benefits.

This was reported by the Special Prosecutor's Office for Defense of the Southern Region.

According to the investigation, the chief organized a scheme to extort bribes from men of military age who sought to cross the state border of Ukraine with the Republic of Moldova without proper inspection. In exchange for $3,000, the border guard promised to ensure unimpeded border crossing.

In March 2025, while performing her duties at a checkpoint, she crossed the border for one of these men.

Photo: Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office for the Southern Region.

After she received a bribe of $3,000, law enforcement officers detained the suspect, all under their supervision.

Currently, the border guard has been imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 130,204. For this crime, the woman faces up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The day before, law enforcement officers detained two servicemen in Odesa on suspicion of extortion from a man who was registered with one of the territorial centers for recruitment and social support as a person evading mobilization.

Prior to that, the State Bureau of Investigation together with the Security Service of Ukraine served the law enforcement officer with a notice of suspicion that he had promised the men to remove them from the list of persons liable for military service in exchange for money.

Earlier, the SBI reported the exposure of an organized group of doctors who helped healthy men of conscription age obtain medical documents that allowed the medical and social expert commission to declare them unfit for service.

Андрій Колісніченко