The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Ukraine announced that it had uncovered a corruption scheme in the Odessa region, in which a group of doctors issued fake medical documents to men who were trying to avoid military service by being certified with a degree of disability, Ukrinform reported, BTA reported.
In the spring of this year, a doctor from the Odessa Regional Clinical Hospital began offering paid services to men who wanted to avoid mobilization. He organized a network of 12 doctors from various medical institutions, officials from the Regional Center for Medical and Social Expertise (RCMSE) in Odessa, as well as their relatives, who acted as intermediaries in the scheme.
The doctors falsified diagnoses of healthy individuals and prepared complete medical records supporting these fictitious illnesses, including medical examinations. With these false documents, the men presented themselves at the RCMSE, where they were met by "trained" members of a medical commission, who officially established their status as disabled people.
The cost of the service ranged between $6,000 and $12,000, depending on the complexity of the diagnosis. So far, investigators have identified 42 individuals who benefited from the scheme and are continuing to search for others who benefited. SBR agents conducted 28 searches of the homes and workplaces of those involved and seized medical records, over $80,000 in cash, and three luxury cars.
During a search of the RCMSE, two servicemen wanted for leaving their military unit without permission were detained, as well as five men of draft age who were trying to avoid military service by using false disability documents. The main organizer of the scheme was detained and charged with unlawful enrichment in the performance of his duty, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Authorities have not yet decided what charges to bring against the remaining participants in the scheme.