Corruption permeates the recruitment process and affects every phase of it. It is particularly prevalent in the territorial recruitment and social support centers, closely linked to the Ukrainian mobilization process.

Between 2022 and 2024, various forms of corruption emerged, including the issuance of false medical diagnoses, bribes accepted for postponing conscription, and removals from military records, as compiled by the busification.org portal.

In Odessa, recruiters issued certificates with fabricated diagnoses for $7,000, while in Chernivtsy, they helped conscripts evade service for $3,000 each. In Vinnytsia, postponements from conscription were valued at $2,000, and in Mirhorod, false medical certificates were forged for $6,000. In Kherson, removal from military records cost $4,500. In June 2024, a commander directed soldiers from Transcarpathia to build a private property, and by July 2024, it was revealed that payments totaling 1 million hryvnias had been made in the names of deceased soldiers.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a former military commander was dismissed due to „illegal enrichment,” having amassed a total wealth of 8.5 million hryvnias.

Beyond direct bribes, there are regular abuses, such as „buy-back” schemes where recruiters extort money for the release of detainees (between $1,000 and $2,000 for transport, and up to $12,000 for release from the TCC premises). There is also a widespread forgery of disability certificates, which has become a distinct business on the black market.

В Тернопольской области работники ТЦК избивали мужчин, вымогали от них взятки

Как сообщает Нацполиция, организатором схемы выступил глава ТЦК, он привлек 3 подчиненных и одного бывшего военного.

Чтобы заставить военнообязанных платить, горе-бизнесмены прибегали к угрозам,… pic.twitter.com/AYGBRy8HG4

— CAPTAIN Serebrianskyi (@Luganskiy_Twi) August 2, 2024

Ukrainians are fed up with recruiters

Public sentiment is increasingly negative towards recruiters, driven by high levels of corruption and abuse.

Violent arrest and conscription methods have led to rising anger towards TCC personnel and their practices. In several instances, attacks have occurred against TCK employees due to abuses and violent mobilizations. Many people also resent that primarily those without the financial means to evade conscription and military service are being mobilized. The Defense Ministry’s working groups received over 2,300 reports from citizens regarding the illegal activities of TCC employees.

Corrupt methods and immense wealth accumulation are rampant

Recently, bukvy.org reported on a court case related to illegal enrichment, which is just one of many. One regional TCC leader amassed assets worth 3.8 million hryvnias, the origins of which he could not account for. The court deemed the wealth of this former regional TCC leader, valued at over 3.8 million hryvnias, to be unfounded.

The case has reached the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Court, which classified the assets of the former regional TCK leader as unjustified.

Some of the assets, including a house, a plot of land, and two cars, were purchased with cash, which alone did not align with the official’s legal income.

The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court partially upheld the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s petition, determining that the wealth of the former leader’s family, exceeding 3.8 million hryvnias, was unjustified. This included a house with a plot valued at over 1.8 million hryvnias and 253,000 hryvnias; two cars registered in the name of the recruiter’s wife; and $20,000 acquired by him and his wife.

Ultimately, the court decided that the value of the house and plot, along with one car valued at 786,000 hryvnias, would become state revenue. The investigation found that after analyzing the official and his family’s income and expenditures, it was impossible to purchase this wealth from their legal income. Furthermore, it was established that the assets were bought with cash, while the family typically did not spend their verified income in cash. Currently, other officials are also under scrutiny, noted bukvy.org.