Millions earned

Doctor wrote healthy Ukrainians unfit for military service

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/sebra)

The head of a medical commission in western Ukraine is said to have earned millions of euros by issuing disability certificates for men fit for military service. During raids on her home and workplace in the city of Khmelnytskyi, police confiscated the equivalent of over five million euros in cash. 

"The law enforcement officers found money in practically every corner of the apartment - in cupboards, drawers and niches," the State Investigation Bureau announced.

The suspect also tried to throw two bags containing half a million US dollars out of the window during the house search. Lists with names of men who had fictitious illnesses certified were found in her cabinet.

Woman also acquired real estate in Austria
Together with her son, one of the heads of the pension fund for the Khmelnytskyi region and other family members, the woman had also acquired 30 properties in Ukraine, nine luxury cars, company rights worth millions and a hotel. The illegal proceeds were also used to buy real estate in Austria, Spain and Turkey.

Some men in the Ukraine are believed to have put away a lot of money to avoid having to go to war.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Genya SAVILOV)

Suspects face twelve years in prison
There are also the equivalent of more than two million euros in foreign accounts. According to a report on public television, the 64-year-old is also a deputy of the presidential party Servant of the People in the Khmelnytskyi regional council. The suspects now face twelve years in prison for fraud on a particularly large scale and unlawful enrichment.

Certificates cost 2200 euros in the east
At the same time, the public prosecutor's office in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv convicted 13 doctors who allegedly issued disability certificates to more than 400 men for the equivalent of over 2,200 euros per person.

Following the Russian invasion in February 2022, a mobilization was ordered in Ukraine. Many men between the ages of 18 and 60 who are fit for military service are trying to evade military service by forging disability documents.