Odesa resident detained for extortion of bribe from a person liable for military service

Police detained a man in Odesa who is suspected of influence peddling and bribery.

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

According to the investigation, the man distributed information among his acquaintances about "solving" any issues related to avoiding mobilization. He assured that in exchange for a monetary reward, he could influence the necessary officials in the military medical commission, territorial recruitment and social support centers of Odesa to make a decision to remove the "client" from the military register for health reasons, as well as border guards who would help fictitious patients to leave the country without hindrance.

The offender found a client and agreed with him to provide a full package of services, the cost of which reached 12 thousand dollars. To start the process of preparing the necessary documents, the client, at the offender's request, handed over UAH 4 thousand in advance and had to bring personal documents and another USD 5.5 thousand to the next meeting. However, having a down payment for the service, the offender demanded that the agreed amount of money be transferred to him as soon as possible, threatening to send him to the front line in case of refusal.

Law enforcement officers detained the offender in a procedural order immediately after he received USD 5.5 thousand of the bribe. The money was seized as material evidence.

Investigators served the suspect a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, i.e. accepting an offer, promise and obtaining an unlawful benefit for himself, for influencing the decision-making of a person authorized to perform state functions, combined with extortion of such benefit. The suspect was chosen as a measure of restraint in the form of detention with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 908.4 thousand. In the course of the investigation, the SBU will identify the persons who managed to use the suspect's illegal services and his possible accomplices.

If proven guilty, the man faces up to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

Кирило Бойко