A 66-year-old Lviv resident and his 46-year-old son have been detained by law enforcement officers on suspicion of organising a scheme for the illegal departure of men liable for military service from Ukraine. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, in February this year the father and son offered a man liable for military service two options for illegally crossing the state border. The first was to provide, for 15,000 US dollars, the preparation of medical documents for obtaining third-group disability status, which would have made it possible to leave the country without hindrance. The second was to arrange, for 10,000 US dollars, a border crossing outside official checkpoints, bypassing border control.
The man chose the option involving forged medical documents. To put the plan into action, the suspects, acting covertly, met the “client” several times in busy areas near shopping centres in Lviv, discussed the details and gave instructions. During one of these meetings they said additional payment was needed – 40,000 UAH, allegedly for the preparation of medical certificates. Later the amount increased: they demanded a further 11,000 UAH for arranging in-patient treatment in the absence of the patient.
To prove their “capabilities”, the accomplices several times brought the man liable for military service to one of the medical institutions of the Lviv community. There he waited in a car while, according to the organisers, the “issue was being resolved” regarding the documents, without having any contact with the medical staff.
At the end of May the suspects informed him that the documents were almost ready and demanded payment for their work. After receiving the first part of the agreed sum – 7,500 US dollars – the father and son were detained by law enforcement officers near one of the shopping centres in Sykhiv under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
The detainees turned out to be a former deputy of one of the village councils of Zhovkva district and his son, a Lviv entrepreneur engaged in freight transport. During searches at their place of residence, cartridges for small arms were seized from the father. The ammunition has been sent for expert examination, after the results of which the issue of legal classification will be decided.
Under the procedural guidance of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, both men have been notified of suspicion of organising the illegal transfer of a person across the state border of Ukraine, as well as of facilitating such a transfer by providing advice, instructions and means, committed by a group of persons acting in prior collusion for profit (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Investigative actions are ongoing; other possible participants in the offence are being identified, in particular among employees of the medical institution. The pre-trial investigation is being carried out by the Main Department of the National Police in the Lviv region, with operational support provided by the Security Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region.
The Prosecutor’s Office reminded the public that, in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until his or her guilt is proved in accordance with the law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.