A lieutenant colonel was arrested in the Ternopil region for promising to transfer a soldier to the rear in exchange for $5,000

Officers from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), in collaboration with the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) Main Directorate for Internal Security, have exposed a law enforcement officer from the Ternopil region, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel, who organized a corruption scheme. In exchange for a monetary reward, he promised to influence members of the Military Medical Commission (MMC) and ensure the transfer of a mobilized servicemember to a rear-area unit.

This was reported by the SBI.

In January of this year, the suspect learned that the father of an acquaintance of his was serving in a combat unit and was attempting to undergo a medical examination due to deteriorating health. The official decided to take advantage of the situation and assured the woman that he had connections among the commission’s leadership and the territorial recruitment centers (TRCs) in the Ternopil region. He promised to expedite the medical examination for a fee and guaranteed the soldier’s subsequent transfer to the rear or to a TRC.

For his services, the lieutenant colonel initially demanded and received $5,000 from the soldier’s relatives. Later, he claimed that additional funds were needed, allegedly to purchase tactical gear and first-aid kits for the officials who would be directly making the necessary decision.

Law enforcement officers caught the suspect red-handed in one of Ternopil’s parks while he was receiving another installment of money in the amount of 22,000 hryvnias.

The suspect has been notified of charges under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (receiving an unlawful benefit for influencing the decision-making of public officials, combined with extortion). The court has already imposed a preventive measure in the form of pretrial detention on the suspect. He faces up to 8 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The pretrial investigation is ongoing, and other individuals who may have been involved in this scheme are currently being identified.

As a reminder, a scheme to help men flee abroad via the TCC was uncovered in Kharkiv.

The SBU detained the head of a medical examination commission in Kropyvnytskyi for selling disability certificates.

Kyiv police dismantled an interregional cocaine distribution network worth 8 million hryvnias.