A scheme involving fraudulent disability claims worth over 200 million hryvnias was uncovered in Zaporizhzhia
Law enforcement officials have uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the fraudulent issuance of disability certificates at medical facilities in Zaporizhzhia. According to the investigation, approximately 500 fictitious cases were identified, and the total amount of illicit gains exceeds 200 million hryvnias.
Members of the criminal group, for a fee, issued forged medical documents to conscripts, which served as the basis for establishing a disability category allegedly related to their professional activities. This allowed them to obtain deferrals from mobilization, increased pension payments, and the right to travel abroad. According to preliminary data, at least 500 people used the services of these fraudsters.
Operatives from the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Zaporizhzhia police investigators established that employees of public and private medical institutions, as well as civilians, were involved in the scheme.
The organizers sought out conscripts and offered them assistance in obtaining disability status, allegedly resulting from hazardous working conditions. The cost of the services was 420,000 UAH per person.
With these funds, the suspects created a “medical history” by entering false information into medical records—including conclusions, certificates, and examination results with fabricated diagnoses. They also arranged fictitious inpatient treatment at private and public facilities in Zaporizhzhia.
Based on the forged documents, data regarding “illnesses” were entered into the electronic healthcare system. The men were then referred to doctors at occupational health institutions under the suspects’ control, who, for a fee, confirmed the link between the “illness” and the men’s professional activities and issued corresponding conclusions.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement documented 32 such cases. In total, according to the investigation, approximately 500 fictitious disability claims were processed in 2025.
In the Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, 45 searches were conducted at medical facilities, as well as at the suspects’ residences and in their vehicles.
Over 7.3 million UAH in cash, medical seals and stamps, documentation, patient files, hard drives, computer equipment, 24 mobile phones, rough notes, and other physical evidence were seized.
Six members of the group—including a department head, the acting deputy medical director of a Kyiv occupational pathology facility, a former State Labor Service employee, and intermediaries—have been notified of their status as suspects.
Their actions have been classified under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, specifically regarding abuse of influence, granting of unlawful benefits, unauthorized actions involving information systems, and the legalization of property obtained by criminal means.
Additionally, assets belonging to the suspects with a total value of over 20 million hryvnias have been seized—six vehicles and two properties in Kyiv and Lviv Oblast.
