Nine officials of the Medical-Social Expertise Commissions have been convicted by Ukraine‘s law enforcement. This has prompted investigations into nearly 2,400 people suspected of fraudulently obtaining disabilities certifications in order to avoid military service.
In 2024, Ukraine sentenced nine officials to prison for large-scale schemes of corruption involving the Medical and Social Expertise Commissions. According to Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, the law enforcement is currently investigating nearly 2,400 cases involving the illegal acquisition of disability certificates that exempt citizens of military service under Ukrainian Law.
On 22 October, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that many high-ranking official paid bribes at the Medical-Social Expertise Commission in order to receive documents verifying disability diagnoses.
The Security Service of Ukraine also discovered and dismantled 8 organized criminal groups. These groups included representatives of the Medical-Social Expertise Commission of various regions of Ukraine.
The State Bureau of Investigation announced on 4 October that Tetiana Krupa, the head of Khmelnytskyi Regional Medical-Social Expertise Center and her son who held a position of high responsibility in Khmelnytskyi Pension Fund, were caught in illegal schemes of enrichment.
During searches, nearly $6 million in cash were discovered, including $100,000 in Krupa’s office alone. Reports revealed that 50 Khmelnytskyi Oblast prosecutors had registered themselves as disabled people. According to Ukrainian media Krupa was directly implicated in the corruption schemes.
Today, President Zelenskyy convened the National Security and Defense Council to discuss this issue and announced that the Medical-Social Expertise Commissions will be suspended from next year.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector of 180 countries and territories across the globe, on a scale from 0 (highly corrosive) to 100 (very clean).
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