Corruption allegations against doctor: Ukrainian woman makes millions with false certificates for conscripts

Corruption allegations against doctor
Ukrainian woman makes millions with false certificates for conscripts

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A Ukrainian doctor is accused of making millions by selling false disability certificates. During a raid, investigators come across large amounts of cash. Together with her son, the woman is said to have invested the money in real estate, among other things.

The head of a medical commission in western Ukraine is said to have earned millions of euros by issuing disability certificates for men fit for military service. During raids on her home and workplace in the city of Khmelnytskyi, police confiscated the equivalent of over five million euros in cash, mostly in US dollars.

“The law enforcement officers found money in practically every corner of the apartment – in cupboards, drawers, niches,” shared Das State Bureau of Investigation with. The suspect also tried to throw two bags containing half a million US dollars out of the window during the house search. In her practice, lists were found with the names of men who had had fictitious illnesses certified.

Together with her son, one of the heads of the pension fund for the Khmelnytskyi region, and other family members, the woman also acquired 30 properties in Ukraine, nine luxury cars, corporate rights worth millions and a hotel. Real estate in Austria, Spain and Turkey was also purchased with the illegal income. There are also more than two million euros in foreign accounts. According to a report on public television, the 64-year-old is also a deputy from the Servant of the People presidential party in the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council. The suspects now face twelve years in prison for fraud on a particularly large scale and unlawful enrichment.

At the same time, the public prosecutor’s office in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv convicted 13 doctors who are said to have issued disability certificates to more than 400 men for the equivalent of over 2,200 euros per person. After the Russian invasion in February 2022, a mobilization was ordered in Ukraine. Many men of military age between 18 and 60 try to avoid military service by submitting false unsuitability documents.

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