The National Police of Ukraine has opened two criminal proceedings against citizen Nazariy Gusakov, who found himself at the center of a high-profile scandal related to possible charity fraud. According to law enforcement, he may have illegally collected significant amounts of money under the guise of assistance for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Information about the urgent collection for a drug to treat SMA was actively disseminated on social networks and in the media. The involvement of public figures — journalists, bloggers, opinion leaders — made the campaign particularly visible, which allowed to collect large sums of money in a short time.
However, recently, numerous reports have appeared on social media about the lack of reporting and signs of actual use of the funds collected. People who donated for treatment have begun to demand explanations and verification from law enforcement agencies.
The police opened two criminal proceedings at once under two serious articles:
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Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - fraud committed on a particularly large scale or by an organized group;
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Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime.
According to preliminary data, at least four financial platforms and digital payment services were used in the scheme. Their details were actively published on social media during the collection.
The key reason for suspicion was the failure to comply with the obligations of transparent reporting, which is usually standard in charitable initiatives, especially when it comes to medical fees. It is known that charitable activities related to rare diseases, such as SMA, often attract increased attention, and therefore require special trust from the public.
In the situation with Gusakov, this trust was obviously destroyed.
The investigation is ongoing, and the person involved could face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. At the time of publication, Gusakov had not publicly commented on the situation, and the pages where the collection was conducted have been partially deleted or closed.
This case became another alarming signal about the vulnerability of the charitable sector to manipulation — especially when the emotional component prevails over fact-checking.
