Penalty for Attempted Bribery
A Kyiv court has imposed a fine of 799,000 hryvnias on the director of LLC 'Ok Sky Service Plus' for attempting to bribe an official. The bribe was intended to secure services for removing individuals from wanted lists and exempting them from military conscription. Law enforcement uncovered a payment of $19,000, which was part of a larger $26,000 agreement.
Case Details
The incident occurred in May 2025 when the accused met a private entrepreneur at the Ocean Plaza shopping mall. The company director offered the entrepreneur a financial reward in exchange for services that included:
- Removal from wanted lists,
- Exclusion from military registration,
- Exemption from military conscription for eligible individuals.
The fee was set at $6,500 for each of these services separately. The entrepreneur agreed to the terms for two men, bringing the total sum to $26,000.
Following the initial conversation, the entrepreneur reported the matter to law enforcement, who took steps to expose the crime. Officers apprehended the director in late August 2025 while she was receiving a partial bribe of $19,000 inside her car. During the investigation, the accused admitted her guilt and confirmed all the circumstances of the crime.
In delivering the verdict, the court applied Part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which stipulates a fine ranging from 34,000 to 93,500 hryvnias or imprisonment from 2 to 5 years. Based on the bribe amount, the court set the fine at 47,000 times the non-taxable minimum income, totaling 799,000 hryvnias. The ruling can be appealed within one month.
This case underscores the seriousness of Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts, particularly under martial law when issues related to military service evasion are highly sensitive. It also demonstrates the critical role of proactive law enforcement in disrupting schemes that can undermine national security during a time of conflict.
This incident reflects a broader issue within Ukraine's military recruitment system, where attempts to evade conscription are becoming increasingly common. For instance, a recent case involved a military recruitment official who was detained for accepting bribes to remove individuals from wanted lists. To learn more about this troubling trend, see the details of the arrest of a recruitment official.