In Odesa, a lawyer attempted to seize $315,000 from a client, claiming to have connections among law enforcement officials
Kyiv • UNN
The lawyer demanded $315,000 to influence criminal proceedings through alleged connections in the Security Service of Ukraine and the prosecutor’s office. He was detained after receiving the money.
In Odesa, a lawyer is suspected of attempting to take possession of his client’s $315,000 by promising to influence the course of criminal proceedings through alleged connections among law enforcement officers. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, writes UNN.
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, a lawyer was exposed who, according to the investigation, attempted to take possession of $315,000 belonging to his client — the head of a charitable foundation in Odesa
After searches were conducted in the criminal proceedings, the lawyer offered, in exchange for money, to arrange a change in the classification of the offense to a less serious article, referring to alleged connections within the Security Service of Ukraine and prosecutorial bodies. At first, he demanded $250,000, and later increased the amount to $300,000.
In addition, for $15,000, the lawyer promised to restrict access to rulings authorizing searches in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions. On October 1, he received the funds and, according to the investigation, disposed of them at his own discretion.
Later, the lawyer continued to insist on the transfer of $300,000, suggesting that the main amount be converted into cryptocurrency through a currency exchange office.
On October 15, the client handed the money to employees of the exchange office, who were acting on the lawyer’s instructions and, according to the investigation, were unaware of his alleged criminal intentions. Immediately afterward, the lawyer was detained.
He was notified of suspicion of a completed attempt to take possession of another person’s property through deception on an especially large scale (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The issue of selecting a preventive measure is being decided.