A 60-year-old resident of Pustomyty district is accused of facilitating the illegal transfer of a person across the state border of Ukraine by removing obstacles. Prosecutors of the Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Lviv have referred the indictment to court.
According to the investigation, the woman, who has a Group II disability, entered into a “sham” marriage in July 2023 with a 41-year-old man from Lviv who is liable for military service. For the role of “wife” she allegedly received a monetary reward, according to operational data.
This marriage was subsequently used as grounds for crossing the state border under martial law. In August 2023, the man, together with his former wife, travelled by car to the Republic of Poland as the accompanying person of his current wife with a disability.
After crossing the border, the accused returned to Ukraine on foot the same day, while her husband remained abroad, thus achieving the purpose of entering into the “sham” marriage. The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of Police Department No. 1 of Lviv District Police Directorate No. 2 of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv region, with operational support from the 7th Carpathian Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
The criminal proceedings are being investigated under Part 1 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and may not be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt has been proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a guilty verdict of the court.