Ukrainian MP flees to Romania to evade trial amid bribery scandal
According to Ukrainian media, a Ukrainian MP from the Servant of the People party (Zelensky's faction) has fled to Romania to avoid a court trial. Andriy Odarchenko failed to appear at the scheduled hearing on September 18, and the next day, he reportedly crossed the border into Romania.
Odarchenko, a Servant of the People party member, is accused of bribing a senior official. A source close to the matter in Romania reports that the MP crossed the border in the Suceava region on September 19.
Last year, the political operative faced corruption charges, alleging that he offered a bribe to the head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development in exchange for funds to renovate the university where he was the rector. On September 18, the MP did not appear in court without prior notice.
Escape to Romania
According to the Ukrainian Pravda portal, which cites the prosecutor’s statement in court, the 45-year-old Odarchenko crossed the border with Romania outside a border crossing point and even applied to local state institutions for asylum.
Earlier, he handed over his mobile phones to his driver and instructed him to connect them to a charger. Since then, the driver has not contacted him.
The Anti-Corruption Court arrested the MP in absentia. It also seized 150,000,000 CAD previously deposited by Odarchenko.
The number of illegal border crossings is rising
Information provided by the Romanian border guard authorities indicates that in the first eight months of this year, about 9,500 Ukrainians illegally crossed into Romania.
The increase in illegal crossings is a result of changes in mobilization regulations. Conscription-age men flee across the Tisza River or the mountains, and some cross the Dniester River to Moldova.
