Former military commissar Evgeny Borisov during a court hearing on July 25, 2023 in Kiev Photo: Getty Images Europe/Andriy Zhigailo
A Former A Ukrainian military official bought a £3.4m villa and cars in Spain after taking bribes from people who tried to avoid conscription, investigators allege.
Yevgeny Borisov, 51, who was a military commissar The Odessa region is accused of accepting about 200 bribes, as well as illegally fleeing the country during martial law.
He was arrested in July and charged with illegal enrichment.
The State of Ukraine The Bureau of Investigation alleges that the former head of the conscription service in the south of the Odessa region received a £4 million bribe from local draft dodgers.
Mr Borisov denies all charges, while his lawyers say he has nothing aware of real estate and vehicles purchased in the name of family members. If found guilty, he faces 10 years in prison.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has regularly criticized corruption in the conscription process. Thousands of men are reportedly trying to evade the draft as the death toll in Ukraine reaches a staggering 70,000.
About 20,000 men have been detained by Ukrainian border guards while trying to illegally leave the country, either by crossing the border outside of official checkpoints or with forged documents.
According to an investigation by Task Force UA, an NGO close to President Zelensky's administration, Borisov spent more than £3.4m buying a five-bedroom villa with a pool and sauna in the upscale tourist resort of Marbella. .
Fairytale House is located on a 1,600-meter plot overlooking the coast in the Sierra Blanca area, which is called the «Beverly Hills Costa del Sol».
p> The estate agent described the villa as «ideal for those seeking the highest level of comfort, security and privacy.»
Borisov's luxurious villa in Marbella's prestigious Sierra Blanca gated community
A UA task force investigation reported by The Telegraph alleges that the property was bought in the name of Borisov's mother, Nadezhda. .
At the time of purchase in the spring, the property was valued at UAH 154 million (£3.2 million).
Investigators have determined that Mrs. Borisova's earnings over the past 20 years amounted to just over four million hryvnias (£85,000).
She also bought an electric Mercedes-Benz EQV minivan in Spain, worth about £64,000.< /p>
Borisov's real estate portfolio also included an office on Marbella's prestigious Golden Mile, bought for around £630,000 in his wife's name.
The official's mother-in-law also reportedly purchased three luxury cars, in including the Mercedes G station wagon, beloved by Premier League players, valued at nearly £200,000.
The car was imported to Ukraine as humanitarian aid and registered. in the name of Mr. Borisov's wife before he was transferred to Spain last December.
According to the investigation, neither Borisov's mother nor mother-in-law had a driver's license.
In the first turn In the middle of December last year, Borisov was discharged from a military hospital, but did not return to the service. At that time he was in charge of mobilization in Odessa.
Later that month, he left Ukraine for almost a month, visiting Moldova, Turkey, the Seychelles and Spain.
“Systematic corruption”
Under the martial law in force since February 2022, military personnel from 18 to 60 years old it is forbidden to leave the country without a good reason.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to crack down on fraudulent officials who take bribes and smuggle people out of the country.
He called bribery during the war “high treason ”, after it was announced that 30 people were facing criminal charges as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption investigation.
The Ukrainian leader denounced what he called “systematic corruption” in granting medical exemptions to people who dodge military service, in an address to the people this week.
“There are examples of regions where the number of exemptions from military service based on decisions of medical commissions has increased tenfold since February last year,” Mr. Zelensky said.
< p> “It is quite clear what these decisions are. Corrupt decisions.
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