9.5 million and legislative support: what connects Kuzminykh with the pharmaceutical giant "Darnytsia"?

People's Deputy and head of the parliamentary subcommittee on pharmacy Serhiy Kuzminykh found himself at the center of a scandal due to suspicions of promoting the interests of a pharmaceutical giant. UNN journalists uncovered facts that may indicate the deputy's systemic influence on Ukrainian legislation in the interests of a specific commercial entity.

The essence of the potential offense was explained by Doctor of Law Oleksandr Babikov.

"If a person says: I will influence another person who will make the right decision, this is abuse of influence. It is enough to prove the existence of connections and the promise of influence for a reward – and this will be enough for a verdict," the expert emphasizes.

According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Article 369-2), the promise of influence for a financial or non-financial reward is a criminal offense. In Kuzminykh's case, it is likely about possible reputational and political gain, including support for media promotion and closed agreements.

In addition, it is legally important to distinguish the line of potential criminal offenses. Oleksandr Babikov explains this with an example.

"If an official makes a decision within their powers for a reward - this is Article 368 of the Criminal Code (receiving undue benefit). And if someone without such powers promises to influence a person who has these powers - this is already 369-2 (abuse of influence)," explains the Doctor of Law.

How the influence could have occurred

In late spring 2024, the management of the pharmaceutical company "Darnytsia" could have developed a comprehensive strategy for the redistribution of the pharmaceutical market. According to sources of UNN, the main goal of the campaign is to eliminate small players and distributors, as well as to create public opinion that pharmacies, not manufacturers, are responsible for high drug prices.

It is important that the implementation of such a plan would be impossible without political cover. And it is here, according to sources, that People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh, a long-time acquaintance of the Zagoriy family, played a key role.

The first step in implementing the plan was an active information attack on pharmacy marketing. In the public space, it was presented as the main reason for "price markups." Under pressure from public opinion, the Ministry of Health banned marketing agreements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies, but the expected reduction in drug prices did not occur. Instead, the profits of the pharmaceutical manufacturer "Darnytsia" significantly increased - by approximately half a billion hryvnias per month since the marketing ban.

The second step was active public support for the initiative in the media. Despite the negative result, Kuzminykh personally continued to publicly defend this initiative. He promoted relevant messages through his own social networks, in loyal media, and during closed meetings with relevant market players.

Moreover, an analysis of public speeches and statements by People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh and representatives of the pharmaceutical company "Darnytsia" revealed a striking similarity in rhetoric regarding pharmacy reform. From formulations like "pharmacy is not a store" to accusations against pharmacy chains of overpricing, the messages of the People's Deputy and the pharmaceutical giant coincide almost verbatim. This is especially noticeable in matters of marketing payments, the number of pharmacies, and products from their own trademarks.

The theses of "Darnytsia" and Kuzminykh, which coincide almost "word for word," raise reasonable suspicions of coordinated actions or information partnership. Such similarity may indicate not a common position, but rather coordinated communications that benefit manufacturers, not patients or the market as a whole.

So where is the benefit for Kuzminykh?

In addition to Kuzminykh increasing his own media recognition through statements about the pharmaceutical market that negatively highlight pharmacies and positively - pharmaceutical manufacturers, in particular, "Darnytsia," journalists also found that before Kuzminykh was elected a People's Deputy of Ukraine, a charitable organization he co-founded received monetary contributions from a fund associated with the Zagoriy family. The amount of contributions is UAH 9.5 million. These circumstances have already become the subject of a separate check by the NACP.

Commenting on the situation, lawyer Dmytro Kasianenko told UNN that the actions of the People's Deputy may show signs of abuse of influence - a criminal offense provided for in Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"If a deputy, using his official status, acts in the interests of a separate business entity with which he is connected, such behavior can be qualified as unlawful use of influence," Kasianenko emphasized.

He also drew attention to a potential conflict of interest in the event of financial relations between the deputy or organizations associated with him and commercial structures.

"The involvement of people's deputies in serving corporate interests creates a systemic threat to economic security and contradicts the very principles of parliamentarism," Kasianenko emphasized.

Given this, Kuzminykh's actions appear to have all the hallmarks of behavior that falls under this qualification: synchronization with a commercial structure, financial ties, systemic promotion of beneficial initiatives.

Are there sufficient legal grounds to qualify the MP's connection with "Darnytsia" as abuse of influence?

The story of Kuzminykh and "Darnytsia" is a litmus test for the entire anti-corruption infrastructure of the country. This very case can check whether the state is capable of reacting to cases of hidden lobbying at the highest level.

All facts collected by journalists indicate a high probability that People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh could have used his parliamentary powers to promote the private interests of the pharmaceutical company "Darnytsia." In this context, the State Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies should provide a legal assessment of such actions and establish whether Serhiy Kuzminykh abused his influence to achieve personal or corporate gain.

Recall

This case with Kuzminykh has an additional unpleasant trail, against the background of another case against him, which is already being heard by the High Anti-Corruption Court. Thus, People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh was caught "red-handed" while receiving an undue benefit of UAH 558,000. According to the investigation, he received the funds for assisting in signing contracts between private companies and one of the hospitals in Zhytomyr region for the supply of medical equipment.

In late January 2022, NABU recorded the transfer of money and published a video about it. In it, a person with a voice similar to Kuzminykh's promises his assistance and adds that he can resolve issues with all medical institutions in the region.

In September 2022, the indictment in the case against Kuzminykh was sent to the HACC for consideration on the merits. The stage of evidence examination is currently underway. However, the consideration of the case is being delayed. According to information provided by the HACC, out of 86 court hearings, 31 were disrupted due to the non-appearance of the defense, and the People's Deputy himself missed 22 hearings.