In Ukraine, TCR (Territorial Recruitment Center) officials fictitiously "mobilized" 276 people – creating statistics using deceased individuals and prisoners; the perpetrators of this "paper army" scheme have been exposed, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported on social media on Tuesday, UNN writes.
Three officials from territorial recruitment and social support centers who were engaged in "paper mobilization" have been exposed. To report "successful" fulfillment of the plan, they invented mobilized individuals who did not actually exist,
According to the Prosecutor General, "having legal access to the 'Oberih' state register, the military enlistment office officials accessed the system using personal electronic keys and entered false data into the records of those liable for military service." "To improve statistics, the list of 'mobilized' included deceased and convicted persons, individuals with the right to a deferment or special registration, citizens already serving or studying at military universities, as well as those no longer subject to mobilization due to age," he said.
"In addition to the electronic register, the officials signed fake nominal lists of persons liable for military service who were allegedly already serving in military units. In reality, no one had called these people up – the forged documents were simply sent to regional TCRs to improve statistics," Kravchenko continued.
According to the Prosecutor General, "in Zakarpattia, at the Mukachevo District TCR, a 49-year-old colonel, the head of the military enlistment office, fictitiously mobilized 162 people between January and March 2024 alone." "His 37-year-old deputy, holding the rank of major, added another 108 people to the fake statistics during the same period," the Prosecutor General indicated.
"A separate episode occurred at the Zolochiv District TCR in the Lviv region. A 41-year-old lieutenant colonel, the temporary head of the department, 'drafted' 6 people between November and December 2023 who were actually already serving under contract at the Military Hospital of the National Guard of Ukraine and other military units," the official said.
Currently, all three have been served with notices of suspicion. The court remanded the Zakarpattia colonel and his deputy major into custody with bail options of 3.9 million UAH and 3.3 million UAH, respectively. A preventive measure was also chosen for the lieutenant colonel from the Lviv region – bail in the amount of 121.1 thousand UAH,
According to him, the investigation is ongoing. "We are establishing the full circle of involved persons and checking other regions for similar schemes. We continue our work," Kravchenko emphasized.