Licenses issued – no control: why the Ministry of Health “turns a blind eye” to tragedies at Odrex

The biggest medical scandal of the last few years, which has already been dubbed the "Odrex Case," is gaining momentum every day: new shocking stories from former clinic patients, accounts of those whose loved ones closed their eyes forever within the clinic's walls, public appeals for help and justice. Read about whether decisive action can be expected from the Ministry of Health, as the regulator of private medical institutions, in the UNN material.

On November 25-26, the Ministry of Health conducted an unscheduled inspection of the compliance with licensing conditions by LLC "Dim Medytsyny" (House of Medicine). It is known that this is the legal entity under which the Odrex clinic operated during the period of businessman Adnan Kivan's death.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Health's inspection was limited to only one structure of the clinic. Meanwhile, Odrex continues to operate thanks to medical licenses issued by the ministry to other legal entities. Moreover, one of the medical licenses for LLC "Medical House "Odrex" was issued by the Ministry of Health to the clinic last summer – that is, after the actual start of the investigation into Adnan Kivan's death. However, the Ministry of Health did not include either LLC "Medical House "Odrex" or LLC "Center of Medicine" in the inspection – the clinic currently operates under the licenses of this company.

And while former patients of Odrex and the families of the deceased are awaiting the results of the inspection of at least one of the LLCs under which the clinic operates, the Department of Health of the Odesa Regional State Administration informed the UNN editorial office that during their inspection of LLC "Dim Medytsyny," violations were found in the "management of medical records."

The Ministry of Health is the regulator that issues licenses. Why was it silent after Kivan's death?

The Ministry of Health is not only the body that issues licenses for medical practice but also the one that must control compliance with these licensing conditions. This is a direct regulatory duty. It is the Ministry of Health that must respond to any threats to the life or health of patients, especially if it concerns the private sector, which operates exclusively thanks to a state license.

So the question arises: why, after the death of Adnan Kivan, which immediately attracted the attention of law enforcement and society, did the Ministry of Health not conduct an unscheduled inspection of the clinic a year ago? The fact of a patient's death in a private medical facility is not just an alarming signal, but a direct reason for immediate state reaction in the person of the Ministry of Health. But there was no reaction. The Ministry of Health did not inspect the clinic, did not comment on the situation, and did not take any measures all this time.

This seems particularly strange given that the agency has all the powers to stop the operation of facilities that may pose a threat to patients' lives. The Ministry of Health could have intervened immediately after Kivan's death and potentially prevented other tragedies that families of victims are publicly discussing today. The lack of reaction casts doubt on the quality of regulatory control and raises questions about whether the Ministry of Health committed official negligence.

Lawyer, managing partner of Magnet Legal, Maryna Mkrtycheva, emphasizes that the circumstances of patients' deaths should be subject to particularly thorough analysis by the state, and martial law is not a reason to refuse inspections.

Control in the healthcare sector has not ceased throughout the entire period of martial law. Mechanisms for assessing the quality of treatment, medical expertise, and state supervision have been in operation. Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 303 allowed for unscheduled state control measures in the presence of threats to the life, health, or rights of citizens, and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1410 of November 5, 2025, expanded the possibilities for applying such inspections in the field of medicine. Therefore, in the presence of systemic violations, patient complaints, treatment defects, or risks to life, a healthcare institution may be subjected to an unscheduled inspection by the Ministry of Health or other bodies, regardless of the form of ownership, including if it is a sole proprietor doctor.

Possible conflict of interest: why Odrex management ended up in the Ministry of Health working group

Additional questions arise due to the fact that Odrex CEO Tigran Arutyunyan joined the Ministry of Health working group in July 2023, created for the development of private medicine. It was personally headed by Minister Viktor Lyashko. Under such circumstances, it can be assumed that the clinic's head had certain opportunities to influence certain processes within the ministry or use personal contacts to maintain the regulator's loyalty.

It is precisely these circumstances that create an obvious conflict of interest and may explain why the ministry did not react for a year to complaints, statements, public stories of victims, and even to the fact of a patient's death within the clinic's walls and the active investigative actions in this regard.

Today, the inspection of Odrex is only the first step that should have been taken by the Ministry of Health long ago. But the responsibility of the Ministry of Health does not end there. There is a need for an internal investigation into why the ministry did not use its powers for a year and did not inspect the clinic immediately after the patient's death. Why did dozens of citizens' complaints not become a reason for a reaction? And why did the ministry only now decide to "open its eyes"?

If patients died in the clinic, its licenses must be revoked.

Society, whose attention is focused on the "Odrex case," may get the impression that the Ministry of Health is trying to demonstrate the appearance of action, while actually avoiding the main thing – a comprehensive assessment of all Odrex clinic activities.

Today, the situation demands decisive action. If the state wants to guarantee patient safety, it must demonstrate that licensing conditions are not just a piece of paper, but a real control tool. The Odrex clinic must be deprived of all licenses if violations are confirmed. The regulator must check all LLCs under which the Odrex clinic may operate, and not just the one involved in criminal proceedings. Otherwise, any other legal entity will continue to accept patients under the same brand, and potential risks will remain unchanged.

The Ministry of Health must act decisively. Because when it comes to human lives, inaction is also a decision. And it can have fatal consequences.

Adnan Kivan's death

In connection with the death of Odrex clinic patient Adnan Kivan, two doctors have been notified of suspicion: Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department of the Odrex clinic, and Maryna Bielotserkovska, an oncologist who has since been dismissed from the Odesa clinic. Both suspects are charged with improper performance of professional duties, which led to the patient's death (Part 1, Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

It is known that for the last six months of his life, Adnan Kivan was treated at the Odrex clinic. His treatment was handled by oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska. She was in constant contact with the businessman's family and gave her recommendations for his further treatment. Meanwhile, the patient was operated on by a long-time friend of the Kivan family, Viktor Rusakov, to whom Adnan Kivan gave an apartment with renovations in a newly built residential complex and a brand new Lexus car, according to journalist Zoya Kazanzhy.