The State Bureau of Investigations of Ukraine is investigating a bribery scheme where soldiers on the front line are extorted for money to be transferred to the rear

The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine is investigating a case of extorting bribes from soldiers “on the front line” for transfers to rear positions.

This information comes from the judicial register.

It is known that the scheme was organized by former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Command, Volodymyr Hamanko, who was appointed by the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny, in December 2022. Hamanko used his friendly connections among military officials to facilitate the scheme.

Hamanko and his accomplices were caught receiving a bribe of 230,000 hryvnias (5,290 euros) from a soldier and were subsequently sent to a pre-trial detention center with bail set from one million to 4.5 million hryvnias (103,500 euros) for Hamanko.

Previously, it was reported that in the Odesa region, an employee of the territorial recruitment center was caught demanding a bribe for exemption from mobilization. Law enforcement authorities claimed that the individual threatened to send the man to the combat zone if he did not provide 300 liters of fuel or its equivalent in cash.