SSU and NABU expose corruption scheme of men’s illegal departure abroad in Odesa district court: Judge helped fugitives for bribes. PHOTOS
The SSU jointly with the NABU eliminated a large-scale corruption scheme in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa region. It was established that for USD 3.5 thousand, the court made decisions that allowed men of conscription age to avoid mobilisation and go abroad. Court employees and intermediaries were involved in the fraud.
This is reported by the press service of the SSU and NABU, Censor.NET reports.
According to the investigation, the criminal mechanism has been in operation since mid-April 2022. During this period, the defendants managed to "issue" more than 1,000 decisions in favour of persons liable for military service.
The scheme consisted in the fact that in return for an illegal benefit, court decisions were made that fictitiously assigned the place of residence of minor children to men. This gave conscripts the right to evade mobilisation and go abroad.
To implement the scheme, the defendants engaged a lawyer who searched for clients and acted as an intermediary to meet with them and transfer the illegal benefit.
It is noted that in order to find the evaders, the defendants posted relevant announcements on Instagram and Facebook.
The SSU and NABU documented one of the judges receiving an illegal benefit.
He has been served a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an unlawful benefit by an official).
The investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances of the crime and bring to justice all persons involved in the illegal activities.
The article provides for up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.
