Provided his wife with million payouts and fictitious service: the story of the commander of the territorial defense's fraud.

The State Bureau of Investigations concluded the pre-trial investigation against the commander of the territorial defense and his subordinates

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations completed the pre-trial investigation regarding the former commander of one of the territorial defense brigades and three of his subordinates. They are accused of helping the commander's wife illegally receive almost 1.2 million UAH in additional payments for fictitious participation in combat operations. This was reported by

Glavkom

The indictment in this case has already been sent to court.

Fictitious participation in combat operations and other crimes

According to the investigation, in 2023, the commander arranged for his wife to be appointed as a shooter in the brigade under his command, intending to secure her increased payments. To bypass the law, the couple even fictitiously divorced, although they continued to be in a familial relationship.

Later, the commander involved three of his subordinates in this scheme, including two unit commanders. They fabricated false documents that allegedly confirmed the woman's participation in combat operations on the front line. Thus, during 2023-2024, she illegally received almost 1.2 million UAH in additional payments.

As noted by the State Bureau of Investigations, interestingly, throughout this Time, the commander's wife served alongside her husband and, according to the investigation, was involved in horse breeding on a special farm. Moreover, she even managed to spend two weeks in Poland, leaving the military unit without permission.

The former brigade commander and his wife are accused of misappropriating someone else's property through abuse of office in conspiracy with a group of persons in particularly large amounts (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Two of his subordinates are accused of abusing office (Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Additionally, the commander, two of his accomplices, and another subordinate are suspected of official forgery (Part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), while the woman is suspected of leaving the military unit without permission (Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The penalties for these articles include imprisonment for up to twelve years with confiscation of property.

At the request of the State Bureau of Investigations, the defendants have had an apartment, cars, land, and a horse transport van seized. The former commander's collection of weapons worth almost 750 thousand UAH has been transferred to the National Agency for Detection, Investigation, and Management of Assets (ARMA).

Recall that in Cherkasy, near one of the military units, the body of serviceman Yevhenii Plytk was found. The circumstances of his death leave many questions, and the family of the fighter demands a thorough investigation. 

Researching the case shows that abuse of office occurred at a high level, using fictitious documents and conspiracy of a group of individuals. The employees of the State Bureau of Investigations continue to investigate to establish all circumstances of this scheme and hold all guilty parties accountable for violating the law.