A Vinnytsia councilor entered a sham marriage with a mentally disabled young woman to get a draft deferment

A Vinnytsia councilor paid the relatives of a young woman with a disability to marry her in order to obtain a deferment from mobilization.

This was reported by the press service of Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General.

According to the investigation, at the end of last year the councilor learned about a family with two sisters. The younger, 18, had a Group II disability and, due to her health condition, did not understand the significance of her actions. Taking advantage of the family’s difficult financial situation, the official arranged through the older sister a sham marriage with the girl in exchange for monthly payments of 3,000 hryvnias. As police clarified, together with an accomplice the councilor transported the victim to another region, where the fake marriage was registered.

After the marriage registration, the official used his wife’s medical documents and the marriage certificate to secure a deferment from mobilization.

Yesterday the councilor and his accomplice were detained. Prosecutors from the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor’s Office notified them of suspicion of human trafficking and evasion of mobilization. The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The investigation uncovered a stark contrast between the living conditions of the suspect and his sham wife.

The councilor—who is simultaneously a market director and the owner of several farms—lived in a luxurious house, while his wife, who needs care and treatment, was forced to huddle in an abandoned house without basic living conditions, police said.