9,000 dollars for the murder of a colleague: a deputy was detained in Vinnytsia

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) have detained a former deputy of the Zhytomyr City Council from the banned political party OPZZh, who allegedly ordered the murder of a colleague. The DBR press service reported this resonant case.

According to the investigation, the detainee's father is a former regional MP and a current deputy of the Zhytomyr City Council. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the man left Ukraine but still controlled the situation. His business and political interests were looked after by his son.

A few months ago, a conflict escalated among high-ranking officials over land issues. His colleague blocked decisions on allocating land plots for construction. The son decided to "help" his father and organized a contracted intentional murder of another deputy, a member of the permanent land commission of the Zhytomyr City Council. The organizer found intermediaries and entrusted them with selecting the hitmen for the murder, providing them with information about the future victim. He promised to pay $8,500 for the contract killing, valuing his colleague's life at that amount, according to the DBR press release.

To apprehend the perpetrator, DBR employees staged a fake murder of a local deputy and took staged photos, which the intermediary showed to the client. The client was arrested after making the payment for the murder.

Searches have been conducted at the place of residence and in the vehicles of the detainee, as well as possible accomplices in the crime. Weapons, funds, and other material evidence confirming the criminal intentions of the individuals involved have been seized.

The detainee has been informed of suspicion of organizing a completed murder attempt committed for selfish reasons upon order (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 15, paragraphs 6 and 11 of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The articles provide for punishment in the form of life imprisonment with property confiscation.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the possible involvement of the detainee's father, a former regional MP, in ordering the murder is being determined.