19 February 2026
(PHOTO: ukrinform.com)
In Odesa region, a court found a man guilty of organizing the smuggling of a conscript to Moldova and attempting to bribe a border guard. He organized the smuggling of his relative using his acquaintances in the Border Guard Service.
This is evidenced by the verdict of the Bilyaevsky District Court of Odesa Region.
According to the investigation, the man developed a plan to illegally depart his son-in-law, a person of military age, to the Republic of Moldova. To do this, he entered into a preliminary conspiracy with a serviceman of one of the military units with whom he was on friendly terms. The accused asked him to find among his friends those border guards who would agree to facilitate unimpeded border crossing through the Starokozache-Tudora checkpoint.
The soldier agreed to help and approached the border guard inspector, offering to organize an illegal passage to Moldova. During a personal meeting on July 11, 2025, on Starosinna Square in Odesa, he introduced the border guard to the accused to discuss the details. In the conversation, the serviceman promised the official more than USD 6 thousand for his assistance and also noted that, if necessary, he could take the man to the checkpoint through the Mayaky-Udobne transit area in his own car.
The investigation established that the defendant had prepared USD 7,500 in advance to be given as a bribe. In August 2025, in the village of Mayaki, on the 38th kilometer of the M-15 Odesa-Reni highway, he handed over the agreed amount to the border guard in the car for unimpeded passage of his son-in-law across the state border. After that, law enforcement officers detained both the organizer of the scheme and the border guard.
On February 6, 2026, the prosecutor of the Odesa Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Southern Region and the accused concluded a plea agreement. In court, the man fully admitted his guilt, agreed to the agreed punishment and asked for approval of the agreement.
The court found him guilty under Part 2 of Article 332 and Part 1 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal transportation of persons across the state border and giving an unlawful benefit to an official - and sentenced him to a fine of UAH 134,300.
In addition, the man was charged with UAH 10,696 in court costs for the examination in favor of the state.
The State Bureau of Investigation also completed a pre-trial investigation against the head of a department of border guard inspectors in Odesa region.
Анна Бальчінос