Police assistant in Odesa fined for trading opportunity to avoid mobilization

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor and an inspector of the public security formation "Varta Pivdenu", who was accused of complicity in the sale of the formation's ID card.

As stated in the court' s verdict, such a certificate would have given the buyer the right to move freely during the curfew.

The convict conspired with an official of the civil society organization and offered the citizen to buy a Varta Pivdennya employee ID for 2 thousand dollars. In addition to movement during the curfew, such a certificate would guarantee the buyer the opportunity to avoid being drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine during martial law.

After receiving an unlawful benefit in the amount of USD 2 thousand, the inspector was detained by law enforcement officers. The agreement with the prosecutor allowed the convict to get off with the lightest punishment provided for in part 3 of Article 368-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely a fine of UAH 34 thousand with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to public authorities and law enforcement agencies for a period of two years.

Earlier, the Center for Public Investigations released an investigative film "Guarding the Odesa Cauldron," in which journalists investigated that there are 36 public organizations in Odesa Oblast that cooperate with the police. It turned out that many of the groups were essentially inactive. It is unclear why they were registered. It is also doubtful that the members of these groups are patrolling the settlements. A number of groups are de facto security companies that receive budget contracts.

The Center for Public Investigations also separately investigated the activities of two civil society organizations that cooperate with the police in Odesa, allegedly to strengthen security and public order measures in the city. The two organizations, the Alfa Plus and PSPO, became known after being at the epicenter of various scandals, the CPI explained their choice.

Кирило Бойко