Odesa court fines volunteer for the amount of bribe received

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa found a volunteer of the International Charitable Foundation "Trust and Future" guilty of abuse of influence.

According to the Center for Public Investigations, as stated in the court's verdict, the volunteer was approached by a friend who said that in order to help his friend, a military man, get the opportunity to travel abroad, he decided to influence doctors for a bribe.

This was to help the soldier get deregistered from the military register and to get the criminal proceedings against him for unauthorized leave of the military unit closed.

However, the friend noted that as a volunteer, the convict was more aware of the possibilities of achieving these goals, so he suggested that they commit the crime together. Later, the accomplices determined that in return for their influence they would receive an unlawful benefit from the client in the amount of USD 44 thousand, which they would divide among themselves.

During August-October 2024, they communicated with him by phone, telling him that in exchange for the illegal benefit, using personal connections in medical institutions, the military and law enforcement agencies, they would influence their employees to make the decisions necessary for deregistration. Finally, on October 30, 2024, during a meeting at the corner of Polska and Sviatoslav Karavanskyi streets, they informed the military officer about the final amount of the bribe - 44 thousand US dollars.

As a result, the men created the client's belief that they were able to exert real influence on the right people, and the convict met with the client and received 17 thousand US dollars from him, which is 701 thousand 743 hryvnias at the exchange rate.

At the court hearing, the accused pleaded guilty in full. He sincerely repented of his actions. After the trial, the volunteer was sentenced to a fine equal to the amount of the money he received - UAH 701,743.

Кирило Бойко