A foreign national has been detained in the Lvov region in a case Ukrainian police link to an alleged scheme for helping draft-age men leave for the European Union. Investigators say the men were presented at the border as members of a music group.

According to the National Police of Ukraine, the suspected organizer is a 48-year-old foreign citizen with permanent residence status in Ukraine. The men seeking to leave the country were entered into the online Shlyakh system, whose name translates as «Path.» In the system, they were listed as musicians supposedly traveling to take part in cultural and artistic events in EU countries.

Police say the service cost between $8,000 and $12,000 per person.

The alleged organizer was detained while receiving an advance payment. He has been charged under an article on the illegal transfer of people across Ukraine’s state border.

The maximum penalty under that charge is up to nine years in prison. The article also allows a ban on holding certain posts or carrying out certain activities for up to three years, as well as confiscation of property.