In Lviv, an ex-judge was caught taking a bribe for transporting a draft dodger

In Lviv, an ex-judge was caught taking a bribe for transporting a draft dodger

Bohdan Lozynskyi, an official of the Military College of Non-Commissioned Officers of the Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, former judge of the Frankivsk District Court of Lviv, was exposed while receiving $5,500 for smuggling a fugitive. His accomplice in organizing the scheme turned out to be a prisoner of the Lviv pre-trial detention center, Andriy Mykhailiv.

According to the SSU and the special prosecutor’s office in the field of defense of the Western region, a 41-year-old prisoner held in a pre-trial detention center in the Lviv region for selling cocaine organized an illegal channel for transporting draft dodgers. He involved a serviceman from one of the Lviv military universities in the illegal scheme.

“It was established that the accomplices undertook to prepare for the clients the appropriate military registration documents and other papers that would provide the right to unhindered travel to the EU countries, and also promised to remove them from the military registration. Such services were valued at $13,000 per person,” the special prosecutor’s office said in a statement on May 28.

Operatives documented the receipt by the military of the first part of the agreed amount of funds in the amount of 5.5 thousand dollars.

Both suspects were informed of suspicion of illegally transporting persons abroad (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code). The perpetrators face imprisonment for a term of seven to nine years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for three years and with confiscation of property. The court will soon decide on precautionary measures for them.

Law enforcement officials have not released the names of the suspects. According to media reports, suspicion was announced to the assistant head of the department of the Military College of NCOs of the NASV Bohdan Lozinsky, who is the son of the former vice-rector of the Ivan Franko Lviv University Maryan Lozynskyi. In 2012-2018, Bohdan Lozynskyi worked as a judge of the Frankivsk District Court of Lviv and was dismissed due to inadequacy for his position.

Another suspect in this case is the prisoner of the Lviv pre-trial detention center Andriy Mykhailiv, who is involved in drug trafficking.