In the Vinnytsia region, a woman was sentenced to prison for entering into a sham marriage to enable her husband to travel abroad
A resident of the Zhmerynka District in Vinnytsia Oblast was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for arranging a sham marriage with a man subject to military conscription. The woman received $15,000 for her services.
“Following a public indictment by prosecutors from the Zhmerynka District Prosecutor’s Office, a 41-year-old resident of the Zhmerynka District was convicted of organizing a sham marriage for a man subject to military service in exchange for $15,000 so that he could leave Ukraine,” the statement reads.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the 41-year-old woman had a Group I disability. Under the law, this could provide the person caring for her with grounds for a deferment from mobilization and the right to travel abroad.
The investigation established that in the summer of 2025, the woman offered a man of conscription age who was subject to military service to enter into a sham marriage in exchange for monetary compensation.
To carry out the agreement, she first dissolved her previous marriage, and in October 2025, she officially married her new “groom.”
After receiving $15,000, the couple traveled to the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district. There, they planned to cross Ukraine’s state border and travel to a neighboring country, but they were detained by law enforcement officers.
The prosecutor’s office noted that the defendant did not admit her guilt in court.
The Mohyliv-Podilskyi City and District Court found the woman guilty under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
She was sentenced to:
- 7 years and 6 months of imprisonment;
- confiscation of property;
- a three-year ban on engaging in activities in the tourism sector, providing information and intermediary services related to visa applications, transporting individuals across Ukraine’s state border, employment, and legalizing stays abroad.
The deadline for appealing the verdict is currently ongoing.
This was reported by the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, in the Odesa region, law enforcement officials uncovered an organized group that had set up an illegal operation to smuggle men of draft age across Ukraine’s state border. According to the investigation, four residents of Odesa, including two women, were involved in the scheme.
The Security Service of Ukraine exposed a pastor of one of Kyiv’s religious communities who, according to the investigation, organized the illegal smuggling of men subject to military service across the state border in the Chernivtsi region.
