Ukrainian law enforcement officers have exposed a pharmaceutical scheme through which hundreds of millions of hryvnias ended up in the pockets of a former people's deputy — now a businessman under sanctions — and some of the products from Ukrainian developments ended up in hospitals of the Russian army and security forces in the occupied territories.
This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Prosecutor General's Office.
This is a 51-year-old former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of six convocations, whose name is not officially disclosed. According to the investigation, he still managed one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations in Ukraine, despite the sanctions imposed and the war. Through the commercial structures under his control, the oligarch organized the transfer to Russia of a full package of documentation, pharmacopoeial samples and technologies for the production of Ukrainian medicines.
These drugs were subsequently manufactured at Russian pharmaceutical factories, sold in pharmacies, and also supplied to hospitals of the Russian Ministry of Defense, prisons, and structures of the so-called “DPR and LPR Interior Ministry.”.
To hide trade with the aggressor country, after the ban on the export of medicines to the Russian Federation in 2022, the businessman created a fictitious foreign shell company through which he continued to supply quality standards.
According to intelligence, over two years, these deliveries brought the Russian state budget over 100 million rubles in taxes. The total profit of the company that worked on Ukrainian technologies in Russia was estimated at 892 million rubles (over 420 million UAH).
All actions were coordinated by the former People's Deputy himself, distributing roles among the organization's participants - from managers and accountants to distributors and medical managers. The examination also established understatement of taxes in Ukraine in the amount of UAH 93.3 million and legalization of over UAH 420 million of proceeds obtained through criminal means.
On July 16, over 40 searches were conducted in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and the region, and equipment, documents and financial materials were seized. The evidence collected indicates systematic cooperation with the Russian Federation even after the full-scale invasion.
Nine people, including the leader of the organization, have already been charged with creating and leading a criminal organization (Article 255 of the Criminal Code), aiding an aggressor state (Article 111-2), tax evasion (Article 212), and money laundering (Article 209).
The maximum sanction is up to 12 years in prison with confiscation.
The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are working to seize the assets of companies controlled by the former People's Deputy in order to transfer them to the state.
