Kyiv official suspected of taking bribes to remove conscripts from wanted list Photo

A deputy of the Pochaiv City Council in Ukraine’s Ternopil region has been detained on suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for helping men evade military mobilisation, the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office said.

According to investigators, the local lawmaker allegedly offered to arrange the removal of conscripts from the national wanted list and update their military registration records without their personal appearance at enlistment offices, Caliber.Az reports. 

Prosecutors say the suspect charged between $4,000 and $10,000 for such “assistance.” In one documented case, he allegedly promised an acquaintance who had been declared wanted that he would resolve issues with his military records and later help him secure employment within a structural unit of a government ministry.

Authorities state that the deputy initially received 77,000 hryvnias ($1,700) in installments to his bank account. He was detained while allegedly accepting a further $10,000 payment.

The suspect’s actions have been classified under Ukrainian law as obtaining unlawful benefits for influencing the decisions of an official authorized to perform state functions, with elements of extortion.

A court has ordered the deputy held in pre-trial detention, with the option of release on bail set at 506,000 hryvnias (about $11,700).

The investigation is ongoing.

By Sabina Mammadli