The SSU’s Main Directorate for Internal Security, in cooperation with the State Bureau of Investigation, has uncovered a fraudulent scheme in Odesa involving false promises to help a suspect evade criminal liability.

As a result of the operation, a lawyer was detained for offering to arrange the termination of an investigation involving the chairwoman of a local charitable foundation in exchange for payment.

The lawyer quoted USD 315,000 for this purported ‘service’.

To arrange for the case to be ‘closed’, the lawyer promised the suspect that he would attempt to reach an agreement with SSU officers and prosecutors.

The Security Service of Ukraine caught the lawyer red-handed as he received the full amount from the suspect.

The detainee has been notified of his status as a suspect under Articles 15.2, 190.5 of the CCU (attempted fraud involving property on an especially large scale).

The offence carries a penalty of up to 12 years’ imprisonment, with confiscation of property.

The investigation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.