In 2024, 64 officials from the medical and social expert commissions (MSEC) were suspected of committing crimes, and an additional 9 individuals have already been convicted. Over 4,000 disability certificates issued based on fraudulent documents have been revoked.
This was stated by the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasily Malyuk, following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). He reported that 4,106 disability certificates, which were issued based on fake documents to prevent individuals from being drafted, have been canceled. Additionally, the SBU is investigating cases of illegal disability acquisition by certain officials, with nearly 2,400 individuals currently under scrutiny.
"The Security Service is systematically countering threats to national security, particularly those that undermine the country's defense capabilities. This includes actively addressing abuses within the MSEC system that have a severely negative impact on mobilization processes. We have already achieved results and will continue to respond firmly to such disgraceful phenomena," emphasized Malyuk.
According to him, the SBU has uncovered and disrupted the activities of 8 organized criminal groups that included representatives of the MSEC from various regions of Ukraine.
The SBU notes that in the Kharkiv region, an organized criminal group consisting of 13 members of the regional MSEC has been neutralized. During searches, over 650,000 dollars were seized from them. Officials were selling fake medical certificates to draft evaders to deregister them from military records due to health reasons.
Simultaneously, in Rivne region, 29 representatives from local MSEC and medical advisory commissions have been exposed for assisting military personnel in evading mobilization. For money, the suspects provided their clients with fictitious medical histories followed by the assignment of disability groups. Here, the officials gained over 350,000 dollars in "profits."
The SBU reports that in Mykolaiv, the head of the regional MSEC was exposed, with over 450,000 dollars, a collection of gold items, and three undeclared apartments in Odesa found in her possession. To conceal this wealth, the official "transferred" most of her assets to her son, a medical university student who holds Russian citizenship.
In Transcarpathia, the chairman of the regional MSEC and three of his accomplices were uncovered for issuing disability certificates to draft evaders in exchange for various bribes. The involvement of the MSEC chairman in the operation of this scheme is under investigation.
Scandals with MSEC
On October 22, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the NSDC regarding the situation with MSEC and disabilities among many representatives of government agencies.
The head of state emphasized that there should also be political accountability for the Prosecutor General regarding the situation in Ukraine's prosecutorial bodies. Previously, it was mentioned that many prosecutors had obtained disability status and were receiving substantial payments.
Andrey Kostin announced his resignation as Prosecutor General. He noted that the issue involves both fake disabilities and the prosecutorial system in Ukraine.
Kostin also stated that he fully supports the president's position regarding the need to not only revoke all unlawful decisions on granting disability status and related pension and other payments but also to implement clear legislative and organizational changes along with personal accountability.
It is worth noting that recently, the head of the Khmelnytsky regional center for medical and social expertise, Tatyana Krupa, and her son were implicated in illegal enrichment, with nearly 6 million dollars in various currencies found in cash during searches. During the raid, the woman threw a bag of foreign currency out of the window. The money was scattered throughout the house.
A number of counterfeit medical documents and lists of "draft evaders" with names and fictitious diagnoses were also discovered. Moreover, according to the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR), nearly 5 million 244 thousand dollars, 300 thousand euros, over 5 million hryvnias, branded jewelry, and precious items were found at their residence.
The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has imposed a preventive measure on the head of the Khmelnytsky regional center for medical and social expertise. She has been placed in custody for 60 days, with the possibility of posting bail amounting to 500 million 1528 hryvnias.