Fictitious employment at a large enterprise: a $6,000 scheme was discovered in the Kyiv region

In Kyiv, law enforcement officers uncovered a scheme to illegally remove conscripts from the wanted list through fictitious employment at critical infrastructure enterprises. According to the investigation, a 38-year-old businessman from Odessa offered to help avoid mobilization restrictions for money by influencing officials of territorial recruitment centers.

This illegal activity was uncovered by investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv together with employees of the Security Service of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the capital’s prosecutor’s office.

According to law enforcement officers, an Odessa resident, while engaged in business, organized a scheme that allowed men to avoid mobilization. It included fictitious employment and the possibility of being removed from the wanted list.

The attacker approached the client through his girlfriend, offering a “service” – to exclude the man from the wanted list in the state information system “Oberig”, which is maintained for accounting of conscripts.

According to the testimony, the suspect claimed to have connections among officials of the territorial recruitment centers and could influence their decisions. He also promised to organize fictitious employment at an enterprise belonging to critical infrastructure, which in turn would allow for a reservation from mobilization.

The cost of such services was 6 thousand US dollars, while the client was also required to pay 40 thousand hryvnias per month, which he called a “tax” for the formalized employment.

The investigation announced suspicion against the man under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for liability for receiving unlawful benefits associated with influencing the decisions of persons authorized by the state, as well as for demanding such benefits. The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to eight years with confiscation of property.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officers are looking for other possible participants in this scheme and checking whether civil servants are involved.