Police assistant sentenced to eight years in prison in Odesa

Khadzhybeyskyi District Court of Odesa found the man guilty of receiving illegal benefits and organizing the illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine and sentenced him to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.

As noted in the court's verdict, this is a member of the headquarters of the public order protection organization Varta Pivdenia, who was not the first to be tried.

At the end of 2024, the Kyiv District Court of Odesa approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor and this man, who was accused of complicity in the sale of the formation's ID card. The convict conspired with an official of a civil society organization and offered a 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.

The man repented and pleaded guilty, but in January 2025, law enforcement officers documented that he had received $800 for a certificate of a member of a public organization. A few days later, he received another $9,000 through an intermediary. In exchange for this money, he promised documents on deregistration for health reasons so that he could travel abroad.

In court, the man initially denied his actions, but later admitted his guilt and repented. He said that their organization helps the Armed Forces of Ukraine and does volunteer work.

It is believed that he acted in collusion with an unidentified official of the public organization, with whom he was supposed to divide the money. The materials regarding this person have been separated into a separate proceeding.

Earlier, the Center for Public Investigations released an investigative film "Guarding the Odesa Cauldron" in which journalists investigated that there are 36 civil society organizations in Odesa region 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 groups 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