First results of searches in TCC: SBI exposes a $2.5thousand scheme (Updated)

The State Bureau of Investigations reported the first results of the "Honest Conscription" operation, within which searches are conducted at territorial recruitment centers across Ukraine. In one of the capital's TCCs, law enforcement exposed a mechanism for illegally removing data of draftees from the state register for $2.5thousand.

The State Bureau of Investigations together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducts searches at over 100 territorial recruitment and social support centers of various levels.

Investigative actions are taking place simultaneously in most regions of Ukraine as part of a special operation called "Honest Conscription". This was reported by the press service of the SBI.

One of the main directions of the investigation is the possible facilitation of draft evasion for money. Law enforcement officers check TCC officials who could have helped to arrange illegal deferrals, change accounting data or otherwise avoid conscription.

Investigators pay special attention to possible abuse of official authority by servicemen of territorial recruitment centers. This concerns, in particular, reports of beatings and torture of draftees.

The SBI stresses that the special operation is not a reaction to one high-profile case. Law enforcement officers call it a comprehensive work aimed at cleansing the recruitment system from corruption schemes and illegal violence.

As of the time of the report, investigative actions were ongoing. The SBI expects that based on their results, detentions will occur in various regions, and those involved in possible offenses will be notified of suspicion.

The very fact of the search does not prove the officials' guilt. The final legal assessment of their actions should be provided by the investigation and the court.

The General Staff announced assistance to investigations in the TCC

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that they assist law enforcement agencies in conducting inspections and investigations of possible corruption offenses and abuses in territorial recruitment and social support centers.

The General Staff emphasized that the Armed Forces of Ukraine adhere to a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. Every report of a possible offense must be thoroughly, objectively and impartially investigated.

"Public trust in the recruitment system of the Defense Forces can only be strengthened by resolute adherence to legality, transparency and the inevitability of responsibility for any instances of corruption", - noted the General Staff.

If facts of illegal activity are confirmed, the perpetrators should be held accountable in accordance with the law.

At the same time, the General Staff called not to project the assessment of individual offenses onto all servicemen of the TCC. It emphasized that a significant part of the recruitment centers' employees honestly and professionally perform their duties, ensuring mobilization and strengthening the country's defense capability.

In the capital's TCC, data was removed from the register for money

According to the SBI, as part of the "Honest Conscription" operation in one of the territorial recruitment and social support centers in Kyiv, a mechanism for illegal interference in the registration of conscripts was discovered.

For a fee of $2,5thousand the individuals involved offered to delete a person's data from the state register. Such interference allowed illegally changing the information about their military registration.

The exposure of the scheme was one of the first results of the large-scale SBI operation, during which investigative actions are conducted at TCC and SP centers in various regions of Ukraine.

The SBI clarifies details about the participants of the scheme and their procedural status as part of the investigation.

Earlier in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they started a check of military unit manning and the fairness of personnel distribution. It should show the actual level of staffed divisions and reveal possible personnel imbalances.

According to the materials: SBI, SBI, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine