"Subscription" for removal from the "Oberih" database: a scheme to "clean" the TRC registry for $5,600 was exposed in Zhytomyr region

"Subscription" for removal from the "Oberih" database: a scheme to "clean" the TRC registry for $5,600 was exposed in Zhytomyr region

According to the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, a corruption scheme targeting conscripts was dismantled in the Zhytomyr region. For $5,600, the scheme allowed the complete removal of data from the TRC (Territorial Recruitment Center) wanted list database. Illegal interference in the electronic register «Oberih» enabled draft dodgers to freely obtain deferment or reservation.

The investigation established that two men were involved in the scheme: a 25-year-old resident of Korostyshiv and a 43-year-old captain serving in one of the units of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Since the officer previously worked at the Kyiv Regional Military Commissariat, he maintained close contacts with officials who have access to editing the register of military conscripts.

The organizers priced a monthly «subscription» to avoid conscription at $5,600. During one of the deals, they promised to remove a 26-year-old man from the register, demanding a $3,000 advance for leveraging their connections in the military commissariat.

Law enforcement officers conducted arrests simultaneously in two regions: the resident of Korostyshiv was detained on the outskirts of his city while transferring the second part of the payment, and his accomplice, the military officer, was apprehended in Kyiv. Both have already been charged with abuse of influence by prior conspiracy.

Currently, operatives are determining which TRC employees facilitated the changes to the electronic register. Until the guilt of the detainees is proven in court, they are considered innocent.