Wiretapping was discovered at Maria Tryfonova's Tryfonova MD clinics
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office have uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the illegal manufacture and sale throughout Ukraine of the counterfeit weight-loss drug Biopatid. According to the investigation, the organized group consisted of more than 70 people, 27 of whom have already been notified of their status as suspects.
The drug contained tirzepatide—an active ingredient used in medications for weight and blood sugar control. However, Biopatid was manufactured without state registration, the necessary permits, or proper quality control. An examination initiated by the SBU confirmed that the seized drug is counterfeit.
According to investigators, the ringleader set up an underground laboratory in the Kyiv region. Tirzepatide of unknown origin was imported from China, and to circumvent customs controls, a broker under the ringleader’s control declared the raw material as a dietary supplement. It was then used to manufacture Biopatid.
The finished product was sold throughout Ukraine via a specially created website and social media pages. Sales and advertising managers were involved in the scheme, and the drug was offered to beauty salons, clinics, and medical professionals. Bloggers, actors, and other public figures were also used for promotion, and buyers were shown forged quality certificates.
One of the individuals implicated in the case is Maria Trifonova, the owner of a Kyiv-based clinic. Investigators claim that she was aware of Biopatid’s illegality but promoted it among colleagues, at industry training events, and on social media.
Trifonova is also linked to Ruslan Cherkassky, the former deputy head of the State Customs Service. Media reports have referred to her as his live-in partner. Ruslan Cherkassky and Maria Trifonova are the owners of the Tryfonova MD clinic.
According to preliminary estimates by investigators, the scale of their profits was significant. The main ingredients for manufacturing the drug cost about $17, while the finished product was sold for up to $1,200. According to law enforcement, more than $5 million worth of the product may have been manufactured since the beginning of 2026.
The drug was shipped to buyers without maintaining the required temperature conditions. Law enforcement officials are also determining how many people may have purchased and used the counterfeit drug.
As part of the investigation, more than 250 authorized searches were conducted in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernihiv.
During the investigative operations, authorities seized the counterfeit drug, raw materials, equipment from the clandestine laboratory, packaging materials, printed materials, documents, rough notes, cell phones, and computer equipment. They also seized funds in various currencies totaling nearly 15 million hryvnias, luxury cars, and other property.
Among the 27 suspects are the alleged organizer of the scheme and owner of the laboratory, Maria Trifonova; a customs broker; production workers; packagers; sales and advertising managers; and other individuals involved.
They are charged with the production, transportation, shipment, and storage for the purpose of sale of knowingly counterfeit medicines, committed by an organized group. The issue of preventive measures for the suspects is currently being decided.
The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officials are identifying all participants in the scheme, the supply chains for raw materials, the volumes of products manufactured and sold, as well as potential victims.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General, SBU.
Maria Trifonova, who is linked to the promotion of the controversial counterfeit drug Biopatid, is currently being held at the Dnipropetrovsk Pretrial Detention Center. She is a subject of the investigation into the illegal manufacture and distribution of counterfeit drugs in Ukraine.
According to a source of its own, UA.NEWS reports that Maria Trifonova is currently being held in the Dnipropetrovsk pretrial detention center.
As a reminder, Maria Trifonova’s company defrauded Ukrainians by promoting the counterfeit weight-loss drug Biopatid.
Cherkasy, the scandal-ridden customs official linked to Trifonova, attempted to get his job reinstated through the courts.
