Former Odesa military commander arrested for multi-million hryvnia corruption
Odesa official arrested for illicit enrichment (illustrative photo, RBC-Ukraine)
Former Chief of the Odesa Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (RTC), Yevhen Borysov, has been arrested, reported the State Bureau of Investigations.
On Saturday, Borysov was charged with illegal enrichment amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias and intentional evasion of duty. He attempted to evade the investigation by employing elements of conspiracy, such as changing phone numbers, vehicles, and locations.
After two days of intense search operations, former officer Borysov was found and arrested in Kyiv.
Considering Borysov's attempts to evade justice, the State Bureau of Investigations will request the court to keep him in custody without the possibility of posting bail.
The scandal with the Chief of the Odesa RTC
The State Bureau of Investigations gathered significant evidence during the pre-trial investigation. Media reports were also studied for a comprehensive and unbiased investigation. Additionally, materials from the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, which revealed signs of illicit enrichment totaling over 188 million hryvnias in Borisov's case, will be examined.
One investigative report revealed that last year, the mother of the former officer became the owner of a residential property in Spain worth over 4 million euros. Apart from this high-end overseas property, she purchased a Mercedes-Benz EQV for almost 3 million hryvnias this year.
Following these findings, law enforcement authorities discovered that Borysov's mother-in-law had acquired a valuable fleet of vehicles over the past few years, despite lacking sufficient legitimate sources of income. The fleet included a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG, and Toyota Land Cruiser.
Moreover, the wife of the ex-officer also acquired another foreign property – an office space in Spain worth 737 thousand euros, with insufficient lawful assets and income to account for it.
The former officer is suspected of:
- Acquiring assets as a state official, the value of which exceeds their lawful income by more than six thousand five hundred untaxed minimum citizen incomes (Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
- Failing to appear on duty without valid reasons during wartime, constituting a criminal offense (Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
- Evading military service duties through deceit during wartime (Part 4 of Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The penalties for these offenses may result in up to 10 years of imprisonment.
In May, law enforcement authorities initiated a criminal case against Borysov for abuse of office during mobilization measures. He is suspected of selling "white tickets" that allowed individuals to avoid military service.
Borysov was dismissed from his position at the decision of the higher authorities.
Following this incident, inspections of military recruitment offices were initiated in Ukraine, and the Ground Forces expressed their cooperation in conducting necessary measures during the investigation of the officer's illicit enrichment.
The Ministry of Defense announced that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the State Bureau of Investigations, the Security Service, and the National Police will monitor the lifestyle of the RTC leadership and track any potential violations of the current legislation.
