Men who were liable for military service but had no children lied about having large families, thus avoiding conscription. Fictitious paternity emerged as a new concept in Ukraine, where conscripts were able to flee abroad with the help of corrupt registry office employees. As with so many corruption cases, a whole network was built up around this in Ukraine.

A system certifying fictitious paternity was operated by some employees of the registry office in Ukraine. This corrupt practice allowed men liable for military service to avoid border restrictions and flee abroad to escape conscription. The authorities recently filed an indictment with the court against 14 defendants, including seven employees of the state registry office.

According to the investigation, participants in the scheme gave fictitious status as fathers of multiple children to men who had no family or parental obligations in exchange for money. This allowed them to cross the Ukrainian border unhindered during the state of war.

According to the investigation, the scam worked like this: men who didn’t have family or parental responsibilities were given the status of being fathers of multiple children. This allowed them to cross the state border without any problems during wartime.

Some of the participants in the fraud sought out „clients,” while others sought out mothers with multiple children. The women were promised financial support and childcare. Registry office employees, especially managers and specialists, used their official powers to illegally alter civil records regarding paternity. Based on this information, the men were able to cross the Ukrainian border without hindrance.

The price of such a „service” was 4-6 thousand US dollars per person.

During the preliminary investigation, it was established that false data had been entered regarding the establishment of paternity in the cases of 25 men. The preliminary investigation was conducted by investigators from the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Police Investigation Department.

Corruption is systemic in Ukraine. We have previously reported that a system of corruption has also been built around conscription. Ukrainian recruiters are making huge amounts of money illegally. Corruption cases permeate the recruitment process and affect all its stages. Corruption is actively present in regional recruitment and social support centers, which are closely linked to the Ukrainian mobilization process.