SBU officers exposed officials of the Main Directorate of the State Migration Service in the Odesa region on receiving improper advantage for the legalization of foreign citizens in the territory of our country.

Officers of the special service found that for different amounts of money reward, officials unreasonably extended to foreigners a term of their staying in Ukraine, produced temporary residence permits and documents required for the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship. The cost of "services" depended on the solvency of migrants and complexity of the case and comprised from USD 3,000 to USD 5,000.

Law enforcement officers detained an organizer of criminal scheme in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in Odesa after taking USD 500 - the next part of the bribe. In total, the attackers estimated their assistance at USD 1,300.

Within the framework of a criminal proceeding initiated under Part 3 Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the issue of serving to the detainee a notice of suspicion and choosing a measure of restraint is being settled.

In order to identify all circumstances of the case and other officials of the State Migration Service, involved in the deal, the investigative actions are ongoing.

The operation was conducted jointly with the State Bureau of Investigations Territorial Administration, under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Odesa region.