The Office of the Prosecutor General, based on materials from the State Bureau of Investigations, has reported suspicions against a current member of the Ukrainian Parliament who organized the illegal transportation of his acquaintances across the border. This information was shared by the SBI and the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Starting from July 2022, the member of Parliament sent letters in his name to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine requesting permission for men to leave the country under the pretense of being drivers who were supposedly supposed to accompany him abroad.
There have been 23 documented instances where, based on the letters from the member of Parliament, 18 conscript-age men crossed the state border without him, as he was either already abroad at the time of their crossing or had not left the country at all.
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Searches at the MP's premises
Additionally, for international trips, he sometimes required up to 5 drivers at once. Three of these "drivers" did not return to Ukraine at all.
The MP has been informed of the suspicion of organizing the illegal transportation of individuals across the state border using his official position and of official forgery (Part 2 of Article 332, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The penalties for these articles include imprisonment for up to 7 years.
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Searches at the MP's premises
The member of Parliament has also received a request for a preventive measure in the form of detention, which will be submitted for consideration by an investigating judge.
Searches are being conducted at the member of Parliament's location and among those who left the country in this manner.
Media sources citing law enforcement agencies report that the member of Parliament in question is Kostiantyn Bondarev from the "Batkivshchyna" party. Bondarev has served as an MP for three terms from "Batkivshchyna," and during the 2019 elections, he ran under number 14 on the party list. He is a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure.
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The MP's vehicle fleet