Police and military officers in Odesa removed mobilized persons from the wanted list

Three officials in Odesa region are suspected of creating a scheme to receive bribes for making changes to military documents. Among them are the head of a documentary support group, a vehicle condition controller at the National Police, and a patrol police inspector in Izmail.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Suvorov District Court of Odesa.

The Odesa court considered a motion filed by a senior investigator of the SBI Territorial Department against the suspects in creating a criminal group to obtain illegal benefits under Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the time of the crime, one of the suspects held the position of head of the documentary support group in a military unit and had the rank of "major". The second worked as a vehicle maintenance supervisor at the maintenance department of the Main Department of the National Police in Odesa region, and the third was a maintenance company inspector at the Izmail Patrol Police Department.

According to the investigation, in 2023, the three men took up their positions and decided to unite to organize an illegal business. They searched for men who were wanted for failing to update their military records in a timely manner and offered them services to remove them from the wanted list for money, as well as to make changes to their military records.

Everyone had a role in the scheme: the patrol police inspector searched for wanted persons and offered them a "service" for a monetary reward; the technical condition controller coordinated the transfer of documents and funds and distributed money among the participants; the head of the documentary support group used his official authority to make changes to the search databases and military registration documents to formally "close" a person from control.

In March 2025, a person liable for military service who had not updated his credentials sought advice from a military acquaintance who told him about the possibility of contacting the police officer who coordinated the group's work. During the first meeting, he was informed of a possible fee for the service - USD 6,000.

Subsequently, several meetings with the intermediary took place, and the transfer of money and documents was agreed upon. One of the group members received the first part of the money - USD 2,100 - and copies of documents to be entered into the databases. Later, the amount of extortion increased to USD 7,000.

During May-June 2025, the group continued to implement the plan: they organized the transfer of photographs for the production of military registration documents and ensured that changes were made to information systems to formally deregister the person liable for military service. The group's activities were stopped by law enforcement, and all three members were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the CPC of Ukraine.

The investigator filed a petition with the court to remove the head of the documentary support group from office for the duration of the investigation to prevent possible obstruction of the investigation.

Also in Odesa, doctors of the military medical commission were exposed for selling fake certificates of unfitness for service for money. The doctors helped conscripts avoid mobilization by issuing fake certificates.

Анна Літман