Five high-profile scandals involving the corrupt “Shlyakh” system that helps draft evaders

Five high-profile scandals involving the corrupt “Shlyakh” system that helps draft evaders

About 19 thousand military-eligible men left the country and did not return, having used corrupt schemes to evade mobilization through the “Shlyakh” system. These figures were announced last month by Serhiy Kozyr — head of the Verkhovna Rada special commission investigating the violations.

The “Shlyakh” system was introduced over a year ago for volunteers who bring humanitarian aid from abroad for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, BBC notes.

However, law enforcement checks almost immediately after the new system’s launch showed that it became a loophole for avoiding mobilization for men of conscription age.

Politicians and deputies at various levels also use “Shlyakh” to travel abroad for private purposes — for business or vacation.

A military-age man can be entered in this system’s registry as a volunteer or as a driver transporting humanitarian cargo. Entries to the “Shlyakh” system are made by the Ministry of Infrastructure, regional military administrations, and private companies engaged in international transport. This happens at the request of public organizations, but MPs also have the right to submit such requests.

Journalists collected five of the most famous scandals related to the “Shlyakh” system, which are also the most common examples of abuses in this area.

Bribe over the fence

The latest high-profile scandal involved a member of parliament from the Servant of the People faction and her assistant. 11 July they were notified of suspicion of taking a bribe to help a military-age man leave the country.

According to NABU, the women promised to obtain permission from a military administration. Which one — NABU does not name, nor the name of the charitable organization that was supposed to submit the man’s documents as a volunteer.

Law enforcement searched the women’s homes last week and then released video of their conversations about the “service” price. A drone video clip also appeared online that, authorities say, records the transfer of money at the deputy’s country house in the Ternopil region and shows a moment when she throws money over the fence.

The MP herself did not comment on the scandal, and NABU has not disclosed her surname. However, the press published it — Lyudmyla Marchenko.

It also became known that the Ternopil branch of the Servant of the People party expelled the deputy from the party.

No humanitarian aid was delivered

Law enforcement uncovered a similar corruption scheme in Chernihiv. They suspect a city council deputy who was elected with the team of the now-former mayor Vladyslav Atroshchenko from the Ridnyi Dim party.

The deputy and accomplices registered military-eligible men as “driver-volunteers” through a public organization he led. They took bribes ranging from three to five thousand dollars. Prosecutors say they detained them directly while receiving money from one of the military-eligible men.

According to the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the deputy, from July to December 2022, sent letters on behalf of the public organization with false information about military-eligible men who were entered into the “Shlyakh” system and were granted permission to leave the country.

“Draft-age men, evading mobilization, left the country as drivers who allegedly transported humanitarian and medical cargo for the needs of the Armed Forces. At the same time they did not deliver any humanitarian aid and have not returned to Ukraine to this day,” the press service reports.

Combining business with pleasure?

The project “Nashi Hroshi. Lviv” claims that some deputies of the Lviv regional and city councils regularly vacation abroad using the “Shlyakh” system.

In April, journalists published an investigation showing that “dozens” of deputies, together with their families, left Ukraine for extended periods using the volunteer privilege. Investigators emphasize that many local council deputies are indeed volunteers, but there are known cases where the volunteer purpose of trips appeared dubious.

In particular, “Nashi Hroshi. Lviv” reported about a Lviv city council deputy from the European Solidarity faction who left the country through the “Shlyakh” system at least seven times, with submissions coming from five different organizations. During these trips the deputy visited, among other places, a seaside resort in Croatia.

Another deputy from that faction used the “Shlyakh” system for a vacation at a five-star hotel in Dubai.

A deputy of the Lviv regional council from the Servant of the People faction visited the Croatian seaside last year with his wife and daughter.

Another deputy from the Holos faction traveled abroad three times last year with his family — twice in summer and once during the New Year and Christmas holidays. In most cases, the deputies told journalists they traveled for specific volunteer purposes but could not provide sufficient documentary evidence, Nashi Hroshi. Lviv notes.

Sons and nephews

In April last year, police opened a criminal case against MP Vasyl Petiovka from Zakarpattia, who three times appealed to the head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration for permission for his son Andriy to leave Ukraine. The purpose was familiar — obtaining and delivering humanitarian cargo for the needs of the army.

However, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention noted that although Andriy Petiovka left the country five times between April 2022 and [time unspecified], three of those trips were for personal reasons, not for transporting humanitarian aid. In addition, Vasyl Petiovka sought permission for his son-in-law and for his cousin Ivan Baloga.

NACP drew up a protocol against the politician for a conflict of interest, but the court, like the deputy himself, did not see any abuse in these actions.

After that, Vasyl Petiovka’s son repeatedly traveled abroad, but the petitions to the regional military administration were submitted not by his father but by the public organization “Narodna Palyanytsia.”

Cases of deputies petitioning for their relatives and close associates have been recorded since the beginning of the “Shlyakh” system’s operation.

For example, in March 2022, the son and nephew of Andriy Portnov, a former figure from Yanukovych’s team, left Ukraine as volunteers and did not return. Journalists from the Schemes project found that the Lviv military administration entered them into the system based on a request from a public organization.

Drivers who are former officials

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention reported that Oleh Hladkovskyi, former first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and a business partner of Petro Poroshenko, was repeatedly “booked” by regional military administrations as a driver of humanitarian, medical, and other cargo for the Armed Forces.

From March to June 2022 he crossed the state border three times in vehicles of different makes registered to various persons and each time returned to Ukraine on foot, NACP states.

Under the same scheme, former Servant of the People faction MP Oleksandr Trukhin became a driver of humanitarian cargo. Several years ago he caused a traffic accident and later confirmed that he offered a bribe to patrol officers. The Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration authorized his trips.

According to the State Border Guard Service, among men crossing the state border, the largest share are drivers — 45%. These are figures as of the end of June 2023.

Sophisticated methods

Although law enforcement periodically exposes corrupt schemes for sending men abroad with the involvement of officials, perpetrators invent various ways to avoid interacting with authorities.

One such scheme was uncovered in the Ternopil region. The scheme implemented by a Kremenets resident did not require officials’ involvement. The man used other people’s electronic keys and entered false information into the “Shlyakh” system. For a fee he sent dozens of draft evaders abroad, the Ternopil regional police report.

The man worked at a financial institution and had free access to entrepreneurs’ electronic keys used for international transport.

The suspect, who was tracked and detained at the border, faces up to 15 years in prison — not only for illegal transportation of persons across the state border but also for unauthorized interference with information and electronic systems.