Corrupt border police officers arrested 'red-handed' while taking bribes from the Bratslavs

January 25, 2023   

After delays and harassment at the Ukraine-Moldova border crossing, and repeated demands from border workers and guards for bribes - the open phase of the investigation by the Ukrainian secret service began, with the arrest of the guards at the border crossing. Business owners? Grow on it: You too deserve to grow to number one Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, civil aviation has been completely suspended throughout the country, and those wishing to enter or exit Ukraine are required to pass through land border crossings to neighboring countries - Moldova, Poland, Romania and Hungary. Thousands of Breslov Hasidim, making their way to the Zion of Rabbi Nachman in the city of Uman, are forced to endure long and drawn-out journeys from airports in countries that share a land border with Ukraine, on their way to Uman and back. Over the past few months, tourists - and especially Breslov Hasidim, who arrived at the border crossing in Moldova, have been detained without justifiable reason by border crossing officials, customs officers and border police officers stationed there. Those detained, who also faced the risk of being late for their flight and losing money, were offered to shorten and end the delay by paying a cash bribe, which they were forced to pay with no other choice. On Monday of this week, it was revealed that during the recent period, the Ukrainian Secret Service - SBU, opened a covert investigation into corrupt border crossing officials who demanded various bribes from tourists. During the covert investigation, incriminating evidence was collected against the crossing workers. With the transition to the open investigation phase, the police and border controllers were caught illegally collecting money from tourists and Hasidic pilgrims who come to Ukraine to pray at the graves of the righteous. Arrests were made on the spot and criminal proceedings were opened against those involved. During the arrests, exhibits and money were seized, including rolled and crumpled banknotes from various countries, which the crossing workers demanded and received. The amount of the bribe recorded at the time of the arrests was $700 in cash. According to a publication by the State Security Service, the criminal prosecutor in the Odessa region and the Ukrainian Internal Security Service, which documented and published the details of the incident - at this stage of the investigation, the managers of the 'Belgorod-Dnistrovsky' customs post in the Odessa region are accused of operating a systematic mechanism to illegally collect money from tourists, with an emphasis on Israeli citizens visiting religious sites throughout Ukraine during the holidays. According to the suspicions, during the Rosh Hashanah period, during the departure of the Hasidim to the Moldovan border for the onward flight to Israel, the border officials realized that delaying the tourists would lead to a delay in the flight, and therefore chose to deliberately and without reason delay the passage through the customs posts and border control. During the delay, documents, personal belongings, clothing, suitcases and luggage were examined. The checks were also carried out on vehicles, taxis, buses, etc., in order to extort passengers and force them to pay bribes in amounts ranging from $150 to $500 or more per vehicle. Currently, actions are being taken to complete the investigation against the participants in the affair, including searches of the offices of the Belgorod-Dnistrovsky customs post and the suspects' residences. [Gallery]