140,000 to avoid mobilization: a serviceman in Mykolaiv promised a deferral through connections

A serviceman of a military unit in Mykolaiv region has been notified of suspicion of abuse of influence. According to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region, the investigation believes he offered, for money, to help a person liable for military service avoid mobilization.

The man cited his connections in the territorial recruitment centers and social support and the military medical commission. According to the investigation, he promised to update military registration data, remove the person from wanted lists, arrange the medical commission procedure, and arrange a health-related deferment.

At first the serviceman allegedly demanded between $6,000 and $8,000, but later named a different amount — ₴140,000.

On September 21, in the parking lot near an apartment complex in Mykolaiv, the man received an initial payment of 30,000 hryvnias. The next day he was handed another $2,800, after which the serviceman was detained.

At the time of the report, the question of holding the man in custody as a preventive measure was still being decided. For the alleged offense he faces up to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Territorial Directorate of the State Bureau of Investigations in Mykolaiv. Operational support is provided by officers of the SBU and other law enforcement units.

Previously we wrote:

• Mobilization evasion sold wholesale: eight schemes exposed
• $900 for a “free pass”: two bribers on trial in Mykolaiv
• In Odesa, a TCC official who “sold” exemption from mobilization was caught
• In the Odesa region, a TCC instructor confiscated a passport and demanded 50,000 hryvnias for a draft deferment
• Scandal in Mykolaiv: a lecturer detained on bribery charges over a “deferment” from mobilization