Ukraine seizes US$6 million in cash, jewelry from official accused of helping draft dodgers

Ukrainian investigators said on Friday they had found stacks of cash totaling almost US$6 million during a raid of the home of a state official suspected of helping men dodge mobilization.

The raid was part of a probe into an illegal scheme to register would-be draft dodgers as disabled.

With Ukraine seeking fresh recruits for the war with Russia, some unwilling to fight resort to bribery to avoid being sent to the front.

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) swooped on the home of an officer in charge of the regional medical commission in the western Khmelnitsky region and her son, a manager in Ukraine’s state pension fund.

“During the searches, they found almost US$6 million just in cash, in various currencies,” the SBI said.

Designer jewelry was also found at the officials’ home, it said.

Investigators said that at the woman’s workplace they found a further “US$100,000, as well as a number of forged medical documents, lists of ‘draft dodgers’ with fake names and fictitious diagnoses.”