Ukrainian authorities have announced the seizure of nearly 5 million euros from an official suspected of having helped men escape military mobilization.
During a search conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (DBR), nearly six million dollars in various currencies, as well as jewelry and other valuables, were discovered in the chief’s apartment and office of the medical commission of the Khmelnytsky region.
The latter, identified by the media as Tetiana Kroupa, was tasked with assessing the suitability of men to join the Ukrainian army. She and her son, who headed a regional branch of the state pension fund, were placed in pre-trial detention.
The DBR said $100,000 in cash, false disability documents and draft lists with fictitious medical diagnoses were discovered in the manager’s office.
“Law enforcement officers found money in almost every corner of the apartment: in cupboards, drawers, niches“, detailed the agency, also emphasizing that the family has more than two million euros in foreign bank accounts, as well as properties in Ukraine, Austria, Spain and Turkey.
An attempt to get rid of evidence
During the search, the manager tried to throw two bags containing more than 450,000 euros in cash out of the window, according to the DBR. The agency also broadcast images of the scene, notably showing a pile of wads of banknotes placed in front of a man lying on a bed, without the man being identified.
The two suspects are accused of large-scale fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment. They risk up to 12 years in prison, as well as confiscation of all their property.
This affair caused a wave of indignation on social networks in Ukraine, where corruption within the structures in charge of mobilization is a long-standing problem. The Ukrainian army, which is seriously lacking recruits after more than two and a half years of conflict, is particularly affected by these dysfunctions.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced on Friday that it had dismantled a criminal network of 13 people in Kharkiv. This group allegedly helped more than 400 men avoid mobilization thanks to false disability documents.
Members of the network include the head of a municipal medical commission and several of his subordinates, who allegedly charged each client between $2,000 and $5,000 for their services.
Ukraine seizure fraud Europe
