Former Banker Petro Melnyk and “Honest Draft”: How Individual Cases Led to Large-Scale Raids at the TCC
Mass inspections of military medical commissions and territorial recruitment centers in Ukraine reached a new level in late July. The State Bureau of Investigations launched Operation “Honest Draft,” under which investigative actions were planned at more than 100 territorial recruitment centers and military registration offices across the country.
The Bureau released its initial findings as early as July 31. According to the SBI, as part of 17 criminal cases, law enforcement officials conducted 61 searches, served notices of suspicion to 15 individuals, and detained two officials.
After completing the main phase of the searches, investigators moved on to analyzing a large volume of seized documents and electronic media. It is this stage that may serve as the basis for further procedural decisions within the proceedings that have already been initiated.
It is important to consider the scale of the current investigations in the context of individual criminal cases that previously involved possible abuses during medical examinations, the processing of documents, and the removal of individuals from military registration. One such case involves the former chairman of the board of JSC “AIBOX BANK,” Petro Melnyk.
“The Melnik Case”: A Mirror of Fraud at the Dnipro Territorial Recruitment Center
Currently, the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv has imposed a preventive measure in the form of house arrest on Melnik in a case where he is charged with organizing the illegal smuggling of persons across the state border and forging documents. A similar criminal case against Petro Melnik is being heard in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi City and District Court. At the same time, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv is hearing another case related to the activities of JSC “AIBOX BANK” and transactions that, according to investigators, resulted in the non-payment of 5.8 billion hryvnias in taxes.
UA.NEWS was the first media outlet to publicly expose the “virtual” military medical examinations and the falsification of medical documents at the Dnipro District Military Registration and Enlistment Office and the Joint Stock Company in Kyiv. As investigators established, Petro Melnyk turned out to be the first—and by no means the last—person to take advantage of this well-established corrupt service.
According to the seized official documents, on August 23, 2022, Melnik “personally underwent” a military medical examination chaired by Olena Oleshevko at the Dnipro District Military Registration and Enlistment Office. Based on the results of the examination, he was deemed unfit for military service and removed from the military registry.
However, the materials of the criminal case unequivocally show that on the day the medical commission’s certificate was signed, the suspect was physically located thousands of kilometers from Kyiv—on the coast of the Republic of Montenegro.
This fact is confirmed by official data from the State Border Service, which details the chronology of the former banker’s escape and “teleportation”:
- March 8, 2022 (10:42 p.m.): Melnik crossed the Moldovan-Ukrainian border via the “Otach–Mogyliv-Podilskyi Auto” checkpoint while leaving Ukraine. The escape was carried out in a BMW X3 in the company of three people for whom, according to investigators, Melnik also arranged for unimpeded border crossing.
- March 19, 2022 (9:52 a.m.): The suspect was spotted crossing the Moldovan-Romanian border at the “Leuşeni–Albita Auto” checkpoint—this time in a luxury Lexus RX 350.
- August 23, 2022: At the offices of the Dnipro Territorial Medical Commission in Kyiv, documents certifying Melnik’s “unfitness for service” were processed on his behalf.
- August 26, 2022: Just three days after his “in-person examination” in Kyiv, Melnik officially arrived by flight from Tivat (Montenegro) to Chisinau International Airport (Moldova).
A forensic handwriting analysis put an end to the procedural debate. The experts reached a categorical conclusion: the signatures purporting to be those of P.P. Melnik on the Military Medical Commission’s medical examination form and on the application for a military ID were clearly forged by another person. This incident formed the basis for charging him under Article 332 (illegal transportation of persons across the state border) and Article 358 (forgery of documents) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
A 29-billion casino, a “tax loophole,” and a failed deal
In parallel with the mobilization fraud, Melnik is the key defendant in a case involving large-scale “money laundering” through JSC “AIBOX BANK.” According to the investigation, the bank, under his direct leadership, became the main financial hub for the shadow sector of illegal online casinos.
The scheme operated through a network of 35 shell companies (including Skoriton LLC, Dzeha, Kendvit, and others), through which law enforcement agencies tracked the flow of over 29.5 billion hryvnias. These schemes resulted in direct tax evasion amounting to an astronomical sum—5.8 billion hryvnias.
Facing the prospect of a real prison sentence, Petro Melnyk fully admitted his guilt and entered into a plea agreement with a prosecutor from the Office of the Prosecutor General. Under the terms of this agreement, the former head of the bank’s board was to be punished for causing billions in losses to the state with… a symbolic fine of 680,000 hryvnias.
However, the scheme for a quick settlement failed in court. The judge of the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv categorically refused to approve such a plea agreement, noting in the ruling that the laughable fine of 680,000 hryvnias is completely out of proportion to the severity of the crime committed, does not cover the losses inflicted on the state, and directly violates the interests of society.
How Journalistic Investigations Became Part of the Exposés
The exposé of the story regarding the preparation of medical examination commission documents for Petro Melnyk became one of the concrete examples of potential abuses in the military registration system. UA.NEWS did not stop at a single publication: the editorial team continued to gather documents, send journalistic inquiries, and contact law enforcement agencies regarding circumstances that could indicate violations of the law.
Inquiries were sent to the State Bureau of Investigations, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the National Police. The editorial team also publicly reported on new details that came to light in connection with this story, including information about the possible illegal transport of documents across the state border and the use of documents bearing signatures that, according to expert analysis, were forged by another person.
Against this backdrop, in late July, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) launched a large-scale operation called “Honest Draft,” under which investigative actions were planned at more than 100 military recruitment centers and joint ventures. According to official data from the Bureau, within the first 17 criminal proceedings alone, 61 searches were conducted, 15 individuals were notified of suspicion, and two more officials were detained. Subsequently, according to media reports, investigators moved on to analyzing a large volume of seized documents.
There is no direct evidence to suggest that UA.NEWS’s journalistic reports were the direct cause of this large-scale operation. At the same time, the story of Petro Melnyk illustrates how individual facts, which at first appear to be a localized incident, can point to a much broader problem. In this case, the issue was not only the circumstances surrounding the processing of a specific individual’s documents, but also the possible mechanisms that allowed for obtaining decisions from the Military Medical Commission and securing exemptions from military registration without actually undergoing the required procedures.
UA.NEWS will continue to monitor the progress of criminal proceedings related to Petro Melnyk, as well as the results of Operation “Honest Draft.” The final assessment of the actions of specific individuals must be made by the investigation and the court. At the same time, it is in the public interest that investigations not be limited to individual perpetrators if the investigation uncovers evidence of systemic schemes, and that all decisions regarding liability be made on the basis of the evidence gathered and within the framework of procedures provided for by law.
