A mediator who promised people “business travel” abroad has been detained by Odessa police after receiving $3,500 for alleged help bypassing border checks. The 30-year-old man from Kropyvnytskyi, using connections he claimed in the command of a military unit, allegedly took 23,000 hryvnias first and then a further $3,000 after handing over documents. Police said he sold “official papers” claiming a man was serving in a military unit and that he had a trip abroad, supposedly for training. With those documents, the “client” was allegedly able to leave Ukraine without obstacles. Officers arrested the intermediary immediately after the second payment. Investigators seized the money, the suspect’s mobile phone, and the documents he had passed to others, sending the materials for expert examination. The man was placed in custody with the option to post bail of nearly 400,000 hryvnias. He was informed of suspicion under Article 332, part 1, for allegedly facilitating illegal border passage through advice and instructions, and under Article 369-2, part 3, for alleged abuse of influence combined with extortion of an improper benefit. The case is handled by the investigative process of the Odessa Kyiv District Prosecutor’s Office. Police are continuing to identify all circumstances and possible accomplices.