In Kyiv, a hospital official demanded a bribe from a soldier in exchange for confirming his disability status.

In Kyiv, a healthcare official has been exposed for corruption. She demanded $5,000 from a military man in exchange for confirming his disability status.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the Kyiv prosecutor's office.

According to the investigation, the deputy director of a municipal medical institution in Kyiv requested money from a 38-year-old military officer for the extension of his second group disability status.

The prosecutor's office indicated that the man had sustained over 28 gunshot wounds while serving and already had a disability status. He approached the hospital as it was time to confirm his disability group.

The woman demanded $5,000. In exchange for this amount, she was supposed to provide a referral for the Medical and Social Expert Commission (MSEC) and negotiate with the commission members regarding the decision. In case of refusal to pay, the suspect assured that the military man’s illnesses and injuries would be insufficient for obtaining the disability group.

The woman was detained while receiving 210,000 hryvnias. Following searches at her home and workplace, nearly $50,000 was seized.

The suspect has been charged with extortion and receiving unlawful benefits (part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The court has chosen a preventive measure of detention with the possibility of bail.

Photo: A hospital official was detained for bribery in Kyiv (t.me/kyiv_pro_office)

MSEC Reform

Recall that Ukraine has initiated the process of dissolving the Medical and Social Expert Commissions following a series of high-profile corruption scandals.

In early October 2024, the head of the Khmelnytskyi regional MSEC, Tatyana Krupa, was caught in illegal enrichment. She and her son were found to possess $6 million. After that, law enforcement opened several more criminal cases against MSEC leaders.

It turned out that under Krupa's scheme, about 50 prosecutors from the Khmelnytskyi region had been issued disability statuses. Amid the scandal, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced his resignation.