Serviceman detained for demanding 500,000 hryvnias from family of fallen defender in Vinnytsia region – SBI. VIDEO+PHOTOS
A former soldier from one of the Vinnytsia region units was caught red-handed demanding money from the family of a fallen defender.
This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation, Censor.NET reports.
What is known?
The man knew that the family of a serviceman who was killed as a result of an explosion of an enemy drone while carrying out a combat mission was entitled to a payment of 15 million hryvnias. The compensation is paid in equal shares to the family members.
"After the burial, he approached one of the four sons of the deceased and stated that in order to receive the funds ‘without obstacles,’ a bribe allegedly had to be transferred to the commander of the military unit for preparing the ‘necessary’ documents.
At the same time, the suspect likely simply fabricated reasons why a bribe was supposedly mandatory and referred to connections that he in fact did not have," the statement reads.
The suspect set the amount of the "kickback" at 1.2 million hryvnias - 10% of each son’s share.
At the same time, he did not demand money from the soldier’s new wife.
Following further negotiations, he reduced the amount to 500,000 hryvnias. It was to be handed over after the first tranche of assistance was received.
Detention
After the transfer of the entire amount, the man was detained and the money was seized.
He has been notified of suspicion of receiving unlawful benefits for a third party for influencing an official's decision, combined with extortion (Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
He faces up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The involvement of current military officials in this scheme is also being investigated.
