Odesa Psychiatrist Charged for $700 Bribe to Avoid Mobilization

The prosecutor's office has sent to court the case of the head of a psychiatric hospital department in Odesa, who was detained for receiving $700 for fictitiously hospitalizing a man and providing him with the necessary documents to avoid mobilization in January 2025.

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, the offender faces imprisonment with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities.

During the pre-trial investigation, investigators found that an employee of a psychiatric hospital offered a citizen liable for military service to arrange a fictitious hospitalization and issue medical certificates for a monetary reward. In this way, he was supposed to provide the man with grounds for postponing or exempting him from mobilization.

The fact of receiving an unlawful benefit, which, according to the agreement, amounted to $700. During searches in his office, cash, bank cards, a cell phone, medical records and other items of evidentiary value were seized.

Investigators charged the psychiatrist under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is a request to provide and obtaining an undue benefit for oneself by an official for performing any action in the interests of a third party using the official position. The maximum penalty for this crime is up to four years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

The court imposed on the detainee a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 242,240, which he used.

Кирило Бойко