Fraud in medical procurement: two deputies of Zaporizhzhia regional council and an assistant to one of them are served suspicion notices

The deputy chairman of the Zaporizhzhia regional council, his assistant and a local deputy, who were caught taking bribes for fraud in medical procurement, have been served with a notice of suspicion. This was reported by the press service of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, UNN reports.

On February 20, 2024, on behalf of the Head of the SAPO, the prosecutor in the criminal proceedings served a notice of suspicion to the Deputy Chairman of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council (who is also a deputy of the said regional council) and a deputy of the said council, who were caught the day before giving an illegal benefit. The total amount documented by law enforcement officers is over UAH 650 thousand.

Details

Also, under the procedural supervision of the SAPO prosecutor, NABU detectives served a notice of suspicion to the assistant deputy head of Zaporizzhia region.

The actions of the officials were qualified as follows:

Deputy Head of Zaporizhzhia Regional Council - under Part 3 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;

his assistant -  part 5 of Article 27, part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;

a deputy of the said regional council - Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the scheme was organized by the deputy chairman of the Zaporizhzhia regional council. He took over the overall management, development and communication with the customer, and involved a local deputy and his assistant in the implementation of his plans. The official also used his connections with law enforcement to implement the fraud.

The person used his personal connections, including in law enforcement.  According to the distribution of roles, the deputy of Zaporizhzhia regional council acted as the perpetrator of the crimes, and the assistant was involved as an accomplice. 

Law enforcement officers calculated that between July 2023 and February 2024, bribes were transferred 4 times under a scheme devised by the deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia regional council.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Recall

Earlier UNN wrote with reference to the SBU and SAPO that the deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia regional council, his assistant and a local deputy were exposed for taking bribes in exchange for helping certain companies win medical procurement contracts.