The embezzlement of budget funds in the procurement of medical equipment involving Bogomolets National Medical University is being investigated by the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau in Vinnytsia region, reports UNN.
The investigation began at the beginning of 2025. It concerns the procurement of medical equipment manufactured by Karl Storz. According to the investigators, the prices specified in the tender documentation were artificially inflated. Bogomolets National Medical University is among the customers of the equipment.
Criminal proceedings were initiated under Parts 4 and 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation, embezzlement, or seizure of property through abuse of official position, including on an especially large scale.
According to the detectives, the scheme was organized by officials of Karl Storz Ukraine LLC — the official and sole distributor in Ukraine of products manufactured by the German company KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG. The aim, investigators allege, was to embezzle budget funds allocated for expensive medical equipment and consumables.
Apparently, the first episode in the case was the investigation into embezzlement at the Podilsk Oncology Center. Subsequently, investigators uncovered an entire network of dealers who, according to law enforcement officials, acted under the control of Karl Storz Ukraine. These included Livin, Medprovider, Ksenko, and Yasmed. In addition to the Podilsk Oncology Center, they entered into agreements with the Sumy Regional Oncology Center, the Zhytomyr Regional Hospital, the Ladyzhyn City Hospital, and Bogomolets National Medical University.
The investigation established that between June and December 2024, the budget suffered losses totaling UAH 5.6 million as a result of artificially inflating equipment prices and creating discriminatory conditions for participation in tenders.
According to a court ruling, in April 2024 the medical university signed a contract worth more than UAH 4 million with Ksenko LLC. According to the investigators, before the procurement was announced, the head of NMU (the surname is not given in the publicly available court ruling, but it likely refers to the university's rector, Yuriy Kuchyn) allegedly discussed its specifications with a representative of Karl Storz Ukraine. Among the items seized from the distributor during the investigation were four Ksenko payment instructions from 2024.
Apparently, this concerns a tender for the procurement of equipment for operating units (a set for ENT surgical procedures, not containing medicinal products and intended for repeated use), in which the aforementioned company Ksenko was the sole participant.
The court rulings contain information about the mechanism used by the participants in the scheme: first, representatives of Karl Storz Ukraine and representatives of the customer institutions coordinated the tender and the specifications of the procurement item. The procurement customers then “tailored” the technical requirements to a specific manufacturer, narrowing the range of participants and making it possible to artificially inflate the price. Under such conditions, victory in the tender for “their participants” became guaranteed. Subsequently, according to the investigators, a “kickback” amounting to 5–10% was transferred to controlled charitable foundations. The detectives believe that the participants in the scheme withdrew the remaining unlawfully obtained funds in cash from bank tellers and handed them over to representatives of Karl Storz Ukraine and the customers during personal meetings.
Interestingly, after the aforementioned tender worth more than UAH 4 million, NMU concluded four more agreements with Ksenko worth a total of more than UAH 2 million. Also, in April 2024, the university signed an agreement with another company from among the dealers listed above — Livin LLC — to procure a steam sterilizer and operating lights worth more than UAH 2.5 million. Livin was the sole participant in the tender. According to our information, these agreements do not appear in the Eсonomic Security Bureau's criminal proceedings.
We remind you
The State Audit Service began monitoring two procurements by Bogomolets National Medical University due to possible violations.
It concerns the renovation of two university dormitories in the capital. Journalists’ investigation indicates a possible overpricing of construction materials.