Former official served suspicion over helping draft evaders leave Ukraine
Investigators exposed a scheme at the Culture Ministry to take draft evaders abroad under the guise of “charity tours.”
A former head of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has been served with a notice of suspicion for facilitating the illegal transfer of people across the state border. According to investigators, the official organized a scheme for men to leave the country under the pretext of participating in charity concerts.
On paper, the draft evaders were listed as members of a music group, but in reality, they had nothing to do with music. Initially, border guards refused to let them leave, suspecting something was wrong. After that, however, the head of the Culture Ministry sent another letter to the State Border Guard Service, insistently asking that these “artists” be allowed to leave. This document became the grounds for crossing the border.
As a result, eight men of conscription age left Ukraine and have still not returned. Although the suspect’s name has not been disclosed, during the period in question – from July 2023 to September 2024 – the ministry was headed in an acting capacity by Rostyslav Karandieyev. He previously told the media that he had signed such petitions “in good faith” and allegedly could not distinguish real artists from fraudsters without special expertise.
The pre-trial investigation under Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code is currently being conducted by the National Police. Additional episodes and other people who may have been involved are being established.
As the UOJ reported, the head of the Lavra Reserve was accused of corruption.
