Former head of the Ministry of Culture was informed of suspicion in the case of men traveling abroad under the guise of musicians

The former Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy was reported on suspicion of facilitating the illegal smuggling of people across the state border of Ukraine.

This was reported by the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office.

Law enforcement officials have not named the suspect. However, it is likely that he is Rostyslav Karandeyev, who headed the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy from July 2023 to September 2024.

According to the investigation, eight men were registered as members of a musical group that was supposed to go abroad to participate in charity concerts. However, in reality, they had no connection to musical activities.

At first, border guards refused to let them cross the border. Then the then-head of the ministry sent a second letter to the State Border Guard Service. As a result, eight men of military age left Ukraine and have not returned yet.

A pre-trial investigation is being conducted under Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal smuggling of people across the state border. This can result in a sentence of 3 to 9 years in prison.

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