Corruption scheme uncovered at regional MSEC in Odesa – doctors falsified disabilities for draft dodgers
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Ukraine has uncovered a scheme in Odesa region involving a group of doctors who provided false medical documentation to conscription-aged men attempting to avoid military service by obtaining disability status.
This was reported by the SBI, Ukrinform saw.
In the spring of 2024, a doctor from the Odesa Regional Clinical Hospital began offering paid services to men seeking to evade mobilization.
He recruited a network of 12 doctors from various medical institutions, officials from the Odesa Regional Center for Medical and Social Expertise (MSEC), and their relatives, who acted as intermediaries in this scheme.
The doctors fabricated diagnoses for healthy individuals and created complete medical records to support these fictitious cases, including MRI scans. With these falsified documents, the men would go to the MSEC, where they were met by "prepared" commission members to formally establish disability status.
The service fees ranged from USD 6,000 to USD 12,000, depending on the complexity of the diagnosis and the disability classification required.
So far, investigators have identified 42 individuals who used this service, with efforts underway to uncover others involved. The SBI agents conducted 28 searches across the homes and workplaces of those implicated, seizing medical documentation, over USS 80,000 in cash, and three luxury vehicles.
During a search at the Center for Medical and Social Expertise, two military personnel wanted for unauthorized departure from their unit, as well as five conscription-aged men evading military service by attempting to obtain fake disability status, were also apprehended.
The scheme's main organizer has been detained and charged with unlawful enrichment by an official, under Part 3, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Authorities are now considering charges for other participants in the scheme.