Police officer accused of corruption tried to flee abroad in Odesa region

The Bolhrad District Court in Odesa Oblast found a police captain guilty of bribery and sentenced him to five years in prison with a three-year disqualification from holding positions in law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and confiscation of all his property.

As stated in the court's verdict, the day before, the police officer, who had been released on bail, was detained near the border with Moldova and a report was drawn up on an attempt to illegally cross the border.

The lawyer drew the court's attention to the fact that he had repeatedly offered the prosecutor to enter into a plea agreement, but they had been refused, and the last time was a month ago. His client intended to join the Armed Forces and defend the country against Russian aggression, but he was not drafted for health reasons. The defense lawyer believes that his client had legal grounds to go abroad because he is a group III disabled person and takes care of his sick mother, but he did not. Instead, he found himself at the state border in a state of intoxication, not remembering what he was doing and how, without any means of crossing the border, that is, he had not prepared in advance.

The convict himself claimed that he went to his parents to say goodbye because he was sure he would be convicted of corruption, he had been drinking and was in a state of severe intoxication, and it is unclear how he ended up near the border.

The policeman was tried for investigating a car and motorcycle collision in the winter of 2024 and extorting money from the driver of the car, threatening to make him the culprit of the accident. To prevent such a scenario, he demanded $1,000 from the driver. At the same time, he stated that he had to give him the money, and he would distribute it to other persons who had influence on the case.

The driver of the car said in court that the motorcyclist had driven into the oncoming lane without his headlights on, and later it turned out that he was drunk, so he considered himself innocent, but the police officer threatened him with jail. Therefore, the driver of the car wrote a statement to the Security Service of Ukraine about the crime and handed over the money under the control of law enforcement agencies.

The accused said in court that he immediately realized that the motorcyclist was to blame for the accident, but he had financial difficulties and decided to fix them with the help of fraud.

Кирило Бойко