A serviceman was also suspected of aiding in the taking of a bribe.
, who demanded 5 thousand dollars from a combat veteran, the Prosecutor General's Office reports.
Doctors of the St. Michael's Clinical Hospital and the serviceman were informed of the suspicion of aiding and abetting in obtaining an illegal benefit, combined with extortion (Part 5 of Article 27 Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, the suspects and unidentified officials of the Central Medical and Social Expertise Commission No. 1 of Kyiv were involved in a scheme to obtain illegal benefits for assigning a combat veteran a third-group disability for a period of 2 years. And then they were supposed to prepare the necessary medical documents for assigning him a second-group disability for life.
“Are we talking about reform or about changing the sign?” — Viktor Lyashko on changes in the Medical and Social Expertise Commission
The suspects told the veteran that he had to pay $5,000 while the medical documents for the second group were being prepared. If he refuses to pay the money, his already assigned disability group will be cancelled.
During the investigation, it was established that the serviceman left the military unit without permission in 2023 and was illegally outside of it. The circumstances of his crime, under Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, will be investigated during the pre-trial investigation.
Law enforcement officers detained the suspects under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine after receiving an illegal benefit.
Lyashko assured that the Ministry of Health is not involved in corruption schemes for the Medical and Social Expertise Commission
During a search at the place of residence, doctors seized cash in the amount of 46 thousand UAH, almost 87 thousand US dollars and almost 4.5 thousand euros, as well as draft notes, seals of medical institutions of the city of Kyiv, and facsimiles.
the question of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention for the suspect is being decided.
- In early October, the head of the Khmelnytskyi Region Medical and Social Expertise Commission, Tatyana Krupa, was exposed for illegal enrichment. She took money from Ukhlyans for registering disability. During searches, more than 5 million dollars were found on her.
- In the same region, about 50 prosecutors were found to be in disability groups. According to journalist Yuri Butusov, the prosecutors received disability groups for covering up the corruption crimes of the head of the MSEC. The registered disability allowed the prosecutors to receive considerable payments from the budget.
- After this, the president decided to convene a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council to deal with such crimes. Subsequently, the president announced a “systemic, personnel and procedural response” to corruption in the MSEC.
- On October 22, it turned out that the head of the Medical and Social Expertise Commission of the Mykolaiv region could have profited from evaders: during searches, they found more than $400,000 on her, and she also issued herself and her son with a Russian passport a second-group disability.
- On the same day, President Zelensky convened a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, where he instructed the Prime Minister to make appropriate personnel decisions. Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced his resignation, the chairmen of the Ukrainian State Research Institute of Medical and Social Problems of Disability of the Ministry of Health, the Research Institute for the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities of the Vinnytsia National Medical University named after M.I. Pirogov and the employees of the ministry responsible for this area were fired. It was also decided that all Medical and Social Expertise Commissions would be liquidated by the end of the year. Instead, there will be a digital model.
- According to the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, about 4,000 disability certificates will be cancelled, and 64 officials of the MSEC have already received suspicions.
- Viktor Lyashko is not going to resign due to corruption in the MSEC.
- The Central MSEC has been liquidated: its functions will be performed by the Ukrainian State Research Institute of Medical and Social Problems of Disability.