Law enforcement officers have uncovered a mobilization evasion scheme at the Main Military Clinical Hospital of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in downtown Kyiv. An official suspected of organizing the scheme may have earned 2.6 million hryvnias in this way.
The Security Service of Ukraine reported this on February 11.
The scheme was discovered jointly with the Prosecutor General's Office and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the SBU publication, a high-ranking official of the center for organizing the protection and defense of the facilities of this hospital is suspected of being involved in the organization.
According to the investigation, he recruited acquaintances into his unit, including Ukrainians who wanted to avoid serving in the Armed Forces.
After being enrolled in the defense department, they fictitiously registered for military service, but did not show up for work, and their salary cards were handled by an official. It is suspected that he embezzled funds from the accounts of:
“It has been documented how, since May 2022, the official has “earned” UAH 2.6 million in this way. During searches, money and documentation with evidence of the transaction were found on the detainee.”
The man was charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement of property through abuse of official position, committed on an especially large scale). The sanction of the article is up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The defendant has already been given a preventive measure – detention.
Two citizens who contacted a high-ranking official were also suspected of evading military service – they face up to 10 years in prison, the SBU added.
Law enforcement officers in Kyiv and the region regularly report on uncovering schemes to evade mobilization. In particular, on February 2, a citizen was detained and reported on suspicion in the capital, who is suspected of several offenses – aiding in illegal evasion of mobilization and influencing court decisions.
Also on February 2, Kyiv police reported suspicions of bribery against a 41-year-old resident of Kyiv region, the head of a public organization. According to investigators, for 10 thousand US dollars, she promised men to “resolve the issue” of unfitness for military service.
The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office has reported suspicions to three doctors from the specialized institutes of cardiology and pulmonology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. They are accused of taking bribes for helping to avoid mobilization.
On February 6, the Bila Tserkva District Prosecutor's Office of the Kyiv Region reported a 68-year-old man to the police for suspicion. He is accused of organizing a scheme to illegally smuggle men liable for military service across the state border of Ukraine.
And recently, suspicions were announced in the capital against a father and son: according to the investigation, the suspects offered the man a number of services for money: from removal from the wanted list to illegal departure from the country.