The arrangement of fictitious disabilities in Ukraine brings in millions of dollars and instantly transforms an ordinary bureaucrat into a wealthy individual. This rule is evidenced by the heads of the now-liquidated medical and social expert commissions (MSEC). Journalists discovered that out of 25 heads of regional MSECs, 18 were officially millionaires.
The wealthiest is Tatiana Krupa, the head of the Khmelnytsky MSEC, who became embroiled in a notorious scandal and is now facing criminal charges. In 2023, she declared a salary of 661.5 thousand hryvnias and a pension of 166 thousand hryvnias, with 678 thousand hryvnias, 15.5 thousand dollars, and 32.5 thousand euros in her bank accounts. The official held 15.2 million hryvnias and 160 thousand dollars in cash.
The family of the MSEC head owns 16 houses, three apartments, and 40 plots of land. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Krupa purchased a 2019 Porsche Cayenne for 2.5 million hryvnias. But this is only the known portion of her wealth. Law enforcement uncovered that the head of the Khmelnytsky MSEC had acquired properties in Austria, Spain, and Turkey, and approximately 2.3 million dollars were held in her foreign currency accounts. There is no mention of these income sources in her declarations.
Significant fortunes were amassed by Yulia Danilenko, the chief doctor of the Vinnytsia regional MSEC, and Volodymyr Reshota, the head of the Lviv MSEC. The former officially received a salary of 221.5 thousand hryvnias in 2023. Together with her husband Serhiy, the doctor declared an income of 981 thousand hryvnias from the company "Energia Vinnytsia," which trades in electricity and is part of the "Energy Standard" group owned by businessman Konstantin Grigorishin.
The family owns a house with an area of 196.7 square meters in Vinnytsia, four apartments with a total area of 225.2 square meters, and 25 plots of land covering 16.1 hectares. The official's car collection includes a 2019 Tesla Model 3, a 2016 Mitsubishi Pajero, and a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander.
Completing the trio of wealthy individuals is Volodymyr Reshota from Lviv, with an annual salary of around 500 thousand hryvnias and nearly 4 million hryvnias in "other income." Reshota has 458.5 thousand hryvnias in banks and 252.2 thousand hryvnias, 5 thousand dollars, and 8 thousand euros in cash. The family of the head of the Lviv region MSEC owns three apartments with a total area of 216.8 square meters in Lviv and three plots of land covering 1.7 hectares.
In 2023, Reshota acquired another apartment with an area of 80.6 square meters in Lviv for 3.9 million hryvnias. He obtained the property based on a debt transfer agreement from citizen Ivan Dumich.
The stories of mass enrichment among the heads of regional MSECs deal a devastating blow to the anti-corruption reform system in Ukraine. This reform has been heavily invested in by Western partners over the years, the authors of the investigation conclude.
The head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), Viktor Pavlushchik, stated that Tatiana Krupa's declaration had the highest risk score, yet this did not prevent her from passing the audit. Agency specialists could not verify her cash holdings if there were no records in her declaration.
"The NAPC couldn't just come and see what was in her drawer," he admitted.
Tatiana Krupa has been in a Kyiv pre-trial detention center for about a month. Surprisingly, the official remains in her position, but the signature authority of the head of the Khmelnytsky MSEC has been transferred to surgeon Yuriy Bevzyuk. It is impossible to confiscate the property of MSEC leaders; they are only at risk of being charged with inaccurate declaration.
To hold these individuals accountable for illegal enrichment and unjustified assets, changes to the Criminal and Civil Procedural Codes are necessary. The NAPC is already working on amendments, said Pavlushchik.
Officials' assets can be deemed unjustified by a court under articles 290-292 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine. Within its powers, the NAPC cannot create documents that would serve as grounds for the court to confiscate funds or assets from this category of individuals.
"To hold such individuals (MSEC workers, ed.) accountable for illegal enrichment or to confiscate unjustified assets through a special civil confiscation procedure, amendments must be made to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine," notes the MP.
The court can confiscate property for state ownership from the heads and members of MSECs if their corrupt crimes are recognized as particularly serious or undermining the foundations of national and public security under articles 59 "Confiscation of property" and 96-1 "Special confiscation" of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) is checking disability certificates of all officials, and criminal cases will be opened for abuses. Suspicions may be announced under such articles: document forgery, fraud, illegal enrichment, and participation in an organized criminal group, added Moshenets.
MSEC officials, prosecutors, and other clients are just the tip of the iceberg. If this field is investigated more deeply, their connections with the Ministry of Health will be uncovered. It is the Ministry of Health that controls the activities of MSECs, reminds senior partner of the law firm "Kravec and Partners," Rostislav Kravec.
However, such connections will not be investigated. As a token example, a couple more top officials with fictitious disabilities might be dismissed, added the lawyer.
The attorney believes that if the disability certificates were forged, there is no need to amend the Criminal Code of Ukraine to seize illegally acquired assets. Ordinary citizens of Ukraine frequently file lawsuits regarding unlawfully obtained funds within criminal cases; this has been an established practice for a long time.
"The executive service usually decides whether to seize property or not," he added.
Recall that the State Tax Service decided to check the disability arrangements among its officials. As a result, 16 individuals were dismissed.
On October 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to liquidate all MSECs. The commissions will continue to operate until December 31, after which their functions will be transferred to cluster and super-cluster hospitals.