About 10 people were detained in a raid by the Economic Police at the University Hospital "St. George" in Plovdiv. Among them is Prof. Dr. Mariela Geneva-Popova - dean of the Faculty of Medicine and head of the Rheumatology Clinic. TrafficNews reports that the detainees were taken for questioning, and some of them were left in police custody for up to 24 hours.
The police actions began in the first base of the hospital, in the area of \u200b\u200b\u200bVasil Aprilov Boulevard and \u200b\u200bLyuben Karavelov Street. Checks are being carried out in the Rheumatology Clinic and the Nephrology Clinic, and medical and financial documents are being seized from the offices. The Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Plovdiv confirmed that specialized police actions are being conducted at a medical facility, but did not announce details of the specific investigation.
According to TrafficNews, a scheme for alleged embezzlement of funds from the National Health Insurance Fund through fictitious hospitalizations is being investigated. At this stage, there is no official announcement from the prosecutor's office about charges being brought against those detained in today's operation.
Patients were left in front of the clinics
The operation has made it difficult for the work of both departments. Some of the patients were asked to wait outside the building, including people who came for examinations, planned admissions or a commission for the appointment and continuation of biological therapy. According to patient accounts quoted by local media, doctors' phones were confiscated and initially there was no information on when medical services would be restored.
“Some of the patients were unable to talk to their doctors because their phones were confiscated during the police action“, Mediamall reported, citing a story to BNT.
The action follows a previous investigation
Today's actions are being carried out against the backdrop of an investigation from recent months, in which the prosecutor's office and the police in Plovdiv reported an alleged scheme with fictitious examinations, referrals and rehabilitation procedures. Five people, including two doctors, were detained in this case. Investigators have indicated that they have identified about 4,000 directions.
At a briefing in June, supervising prosecutor Dimitar Pehlivanov stated: “The damage to the budget from the fictitious inspections alone is 500,000 euros.“ In the previous case, the court had determined a lighter measure of “house arrest“ for the accused. It has not been officially announced whether all those detained in the current operation will be charged as defendants and what procedural actions will follow.
Sources: trafficnews.bg, 24plovdiv.bg, bta.bg