Fraudsters who “sold” a position in the National Academy of Sciences for $500 thousand detained
3 June 10:56
In Kyiv, law enforcement officers detained two men who tried to sell the position of director of a state-owned enterprise for $500,000. This was reported by the Telegram channel of the Prosecutor General’s Office, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Details of the fraudulent scheme
According to the Shevchenkivsky District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, two men were suspected of fraud on a large scale (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The offenders assured their acquaintance that they had connections with the leadership of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS) and could secure an appointment to the position of head of a state-owned enterprise in Volyn region for USD 500 thousand.
“The suspects told their friend that they have connections with the leadership of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine and are ready to help appoint the right person to the position of head of a state-owned enterprise in Volyn for money. The cost of such employment would be USD 500 thousand,” the prosecutor’s office said.
According to the fraudsters, the enterprise in question has land plots of more than 2,000 hectares on its balance sheet that can be used for commercial purposes. They convinced the victim that the invested funds would quickly pay off due to the opportunities offered by the position.
“The state-owned enterprise NAAS of Ukraine owns land plots of more than 2,000 hectares that can be used for commercial purposes. Therefore, according to the organizers of the scheme, the money invested in the appointment will be quickly returned,” the organizers of the scheme said.
Detention and preventive measures
The law enforcement detained the suspects during the money transfer in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The operation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Prosecutor’s Office and operational support of the Main Department “D” of the SBU Main Directorate for Ensuring the Proper Functioning of the SBU Office in Kyiv and Kyiv region.
After the detention, the court imposed on both suspects custody as a measure of restraint with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 3 million for each.
“Both suspects were detained during the money transfer in accordance with Article 208 of the CPC of Ukraine. Pre-trial restraints in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 3 million were imposed on them,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Shevchenkivskyi Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv.
Under the supervision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, the two men were served a notice of suspicion of fraud on a large scale (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
