In Lviv region, three accomplices of the former director of one of the hospitals have been notified of suspicion of involvement in a scheme to fraudulently grant disability status to men liable for military service in order to evade mobilisation. This was reported under the procedural guidance of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, in February this year, while serving as hospital director, the woman organised the granting to men liable for military service of Group III disability status without objective grounds and without their physical presence. Realising that, as a gynaecologist and not a member of the expert team, she could not independently issue documents regarding the health status of men, the official involved other individuals and assigned them roles.
According to the investigation, the director’s responsibilities included receiving documents from ‘clients’ through intermediaries, overseeing the process of preparing the necessary medical documents and sending them to EKOPFO to establish the disability group, as well as the distribution of funds received for such ‘services’ among the participants in the scheme.
The accomplices she engaged, using a wide circle of acquaintances, looked for men liable for military service who needed such ‘assistance’, passed the organiser copies of passports, military registration documents and money. The investigation has identified three accomplices: an entrepreneur – the brother of a close acquaintance of the organiser, who is a former deputy of one of the district councils in Lviv region; an employee of a municipal enterprise previously headed by the said former deputy; and a doctor at a municipal institution who was subordinate to the director.
Under their arrangements, men of mobilisation age were issued fake medical documents with false diagnoses. After these were considered by members of EKOPFO, the man liable for military service obtained the status of a person with a disability, which allowed him to legally avoid mobilisation. In one documented episode, one of the men paid 9,500 US dollars for such a service. In total, over four months this year, 18 men liable for military service aged between 25 and 53 (at the time the disability was established) made use of the accomplices’ services.
All three individuals have been notified of suspicion of aiding and abetting in obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period for mercenary motives (Part 5 Article 27, Part 1 Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the request of the prosecution, the court has chosen a preventive measure for the suspects in the form of detention without the right to bail.
For one of the suspects – the brother of the former deputy – this is not the first suspicion: in mid-May this year he and his brother were notified of suspicion of bribing the head of the State Supervision Department in Lviv region (Part 3 Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the end of May, the hospital director was dismissed from her post after being notified of suspicion of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period, as well as of receiving an unlawful benefit for herself and third parties for influencing decisions taken by persons authorised to perform state functions, combined with extortion of such a benefit (Part 1 Article 114-1, Part 3 Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the SBU Office in Lviv region, with operational support provided by the Strategic Investigations Department in Lviv region of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine. Investigative actions are ongoing to identify other individuals involved in the unlawful activities, including among the staff of the medical institution. In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.