Fraudster selling chaplaincy posts for $25,000 detained in Kyiv

Detention of a fraudster. Photo: Kyiv Prosecutor's Office

The chaplaincy law has ended up in the focus of a fraud scheme: a 30-year-old man was offering draft-eligible men fake military chaplain posts for $25,000, promising exemption from mobilization and permission to travel abroad. This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.

Notably, the organizer of the scheme was not interested in whether the applicants had any religious education or pastoral experience. The suspect was detained directly while receiving the money.

The man has been charged under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of influence – and Part 3 of Article 332 – assisting illegal border crossing. The court ordered pre-trial detention with bail set at UAH 665,000. The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi Police Department under the procedural supervision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Prosecutor’s Office.

As the UOJ reported, more than 300 priests representing 13 religious organizations serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are unable to receive a military chaplain’s mandate under the law adopted in March 2024. The status of military clergyman turned into an attractive tool for abuse against the backdrop of a chronic shortage of chaplains in the army.

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