Odesa military recruiter “excused” 138 people from service
27 May 2024 15:35
An official of Odesa’s Prymorskyi District MCC organised a large-scale mechanism for making money from men who wanted to avoid mobilisation. In total, he helped 138 people, reports [Kommersant] citing the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation.
According to law enforcement officials, in July 2023, the man began to unauthorisedly interfere with the Oberig system, which keeps a register of persons liable for military service. Since then, he has “corrected” the data of 138 people, making them allegedly unfit for service.
The SBI claims that the official’s services cost citizens between USD 4,500 and USD 7,000, allowing him to “earn at least a million dollars”. However, this information may not be entirely true. After all, even if all 138 “evaders” paid the TCC employee at the highest rate of USD 7 thousand, this is not enough to get “at least a million” together. Thus, either the number of people helped by the ‘military officer’ exceeded 138, or the price for services was higher.
The SBI claims to have identified all the people who took advantage of the scheme. Some of them are already abroad. Those who remained were brought to the TCC for data updates and mobilisation.
The official is suspected of unauthorised interference in the operation of information and communication systems (Part 5 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and the issue of choosing a measure of restraint and removing him from office is being decided. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
