Prosecutor General: Scheme to Smuggle Men Abroad as Musicians Uncovered, Culture Ministry Officials Under Investigation

Prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine have announced the indictment of a Ukrainian citizen who, while abroad, orchestrated a mechanism for the illegal transportation of conscript-age men across the state border under the pretense of being musicians. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko disclosed this information on his Telegram channel, noting that officials from the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications are also being scrutinized for their potential involvement in this scheme.

According to the information provided by Kravchenko, the scheme operated as follows: the woman registered as an individual entrepreneur and purportedly acted in the cultural sector. She sought out men who lacked legal grounds to leave the country and, for a monetary reward starting at $7,500, offered to arrange their documentation as members of musical groups.

Subsequently, the organizer of the scheme submitted lists of these individuals to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, claiming that they were supposedly participating in charitable concerts abroad. Based on these requests, the Ministry prepared and sent letters of support to the State Border Guard Service to facilitate their border crossings, which became the basis for their departure.

The Prosecutor General specified that as a result of this scheme, 28 individuals left Ukraine and have not returned to date. Another 16 individuals planned to leave in a similar manner but did not manage to carry out their intentions. The organizer of the scheme, as reported by Kravchenko, is currently outside Ukraine and has been indicted in absentia under part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to the illegal transportation of individuals across the state border of Ukraine.

Today, according to the Prosecutor General, searches were conducted at the homes of former Ministry employees, including the former acting Minister of Culture of Ukraine, who approved the relevant letters, as well as other individuals who may be connected to this case. Kravchenko added that officials from the Ministry are currently being investigated for their involvement in this scheme.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the Ministry of Culture sent 3,724 letters to the State Border Guard Service regarding assistance for temporary departures abroad. At the same time, the agency stated that it does not keep records of violators of return conditions, although the then acting Minister of Culture, Rostislav Karandiev, claimed that less than 1% of cultural figures granted exit permits do not return from abroad.

In 2024, the Ministry of Culture made 2,744 requests to the State Border Guard Service regarding border crossings by military conscripts. This year, 579 men did not return from abroad. In October 2024, the then Minister of Culture, Mykola Tochitsky, stated that one in five cultural figures who leave the country with permission from the Ministry of Culture do not return.

In 2025, the Ministry of Culture made 1,300 requests to the State Border Guard Service for border crossings by military conscripts, indicating that the problem of illegal departures of conscript-age men abroad under the guise of musicians continues to persist.