A senior official of the Ministry of Defense was caught swapping fake medical documents for $9,000 cash to allow a potential conscript to travel abroad illegally.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) arrested the 60-year-old colonel during the transaction. Searches turned up multiple documents and undisclosed amounts of foreign currency, along with weapons, at the official’s home.
The SBI detained the deputy head of a MoD department and served him official notice of being under “suspicion of illegally executing documents to remove a person liable for military service from the military register for unimpeded travel abroad.”
For the bribe, the official prepared a conclusion (certificate) of the Military Medical Commission on his unfitness for military service. The official was detained while handing over documents and receiving money from one of the eligible conscripts.
During the searches of the suspect's residence, law enforcement officers of the SBI seized documents and military cards of third parties, extracts from medical records, sheets with seals of military units, weapons without permits, and foreign money.
The high-ranking official is suspected of smuggling other people across the international border. The relevant article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for seven to nine years in prison along with the confiscation of property.
The investigations are still in progress and authorities are seeking others who may have been involved in the crime. Other officials are under further investigation related to the matter.
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Supervision of the case is being handled by the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and the Specialised Military and Defence Prosecutor's Office of the Central Region, according the SBI.
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