In Kyiv, a $4,000 “reservation” scheme was exposed at an institute, three managers are suspected
In Kyiv, law enforcement agencies have uncovered a large-scale scheme of fictitious employment at the State Research and Design Institute of Urban Planning. According to investigation data, the institution’s management organized the process of registering men for work solely for the purpose of their subsequent reservation from mobilization.
Suspicion was declared against the director of the institution, Valery Churylov, his first deputy, Volodymyr Chupryna, and the chief accountant. The group members are accused of attempting to obstruct the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by prior conspiracy.
Investigators established that clients had to pay $4,000 for the opportunity to obtain the status of a reserved employee without actually performing their official duties. The director of the institute managed the process, the deputy was responsible for processing military registration documents, and the accountant paid salaries to “dead souls.”
It was established that this illegal activity had been going on since at least August 2025. In addition to personnel fraud, the investigation revealed facts of anti-Ukrainian activity by the institution’s leaders.
In private conversations, the director and his first deputy openly justified Russia’s military actions against Ukraine, which began in 2014. The officials presented the armed aggression as an “internal civil conflict,” which became the basis for the additional qualification of their actions under the article on justification and denial of the aggression of the Russian Federation. For such offenses, the defendants face from 5 to 8 years of imprisonment with possible confiscation of property.
Currently, the court has already chosen preventive measures for all participants in the scheme. Two suspects were taken into custody with the possibility of posting bail, and the third person was assigned 24-hour house arrest. It is known that bail has already been posted for the defendants. The investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officers continue to collect evidence and establish the full range of persons who managed to use the services of fictitious employment.
