Feb. 11, 2026, 9:08 a.m.
(PHOTO: life.pravda.com.ua)
In Odesa region, law enforcement officers detained a hospital director general and a member of the Bereziv City Council. The official is charged with extortion and bribery for promising to influence the decision of the military medical commission on the fitness of conscripts for service.
This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.
The investigating judge partially upheld the prosecutor's request and imposed a pre-trial restraint on the director general of the Bereziv Central City Hospital, a municipal non-profit enterprise, who is also a member of the city council. According to the investigation, the official demanded and received an undue benefit for influencing the officials of the Military Qualification Commission in making decisions on declaring citizens unfit for military service.
As stated in the case file, the suspect has been heading the hospital since March 25, 2021, and simultaneously works as a neurologist at the same institution. According to information from the hospital's official website, the general director is Gevorg Bznuni.
SCREEN SHOT: berezivska.crl.net.ua
In addition to his medical activities, he is a deputy of the Bereziv City Council of the VIII convocation. According to the Central Election Commission, Bznuni was born on July 25, 1971, and was previously a member of the banned Opposition Platform - For Life party.
According to the investigation, in November 2025, a man approached the official who needed to undergo a medical examination and examination by the military medical commission to obtain a deferment from service. From November 21 to 28, the applicant was treated in a hospital, and on December 9, the suspect gave him a signed health examination report stating that the treatment should last six months.
At the end of January 2026, the man went to the doctor again - this time to continue treatment and receive an official conclusion on his unfitness for military service. It was then, according to law enforcement, that the suspect offered to resolve the issue for money, assuring that he had the ability to influence the decisions of two military medical commissions. For this "help", the official demanded 10 thousand US dollars.
The transfer of funds, according to the investigation, took place in parts. First, the applicant transferred UAH 50 thousand. On January 28, the suspect received another USD 1,150, and on February 5, he received another USD 500. The investigators point out that the victim, knowing about the doctor's official position and his possible influence on the members of the HQC, believed in the reality of such promises and agreed to transfer the money.
On February 5, 2026, the official was detained. During the detention and searches of the hospital's office, law enforcement officers seized significant amounts of cash in various currencies, including US dollars, euros, and hryvnias. The searches were also conducted in the suspect's apartment, where they found tens of thousands of dollars, euros and hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. The total amount of seized funds exceeded UAH 5 million. The issue of their origin and seizure is currently being considered by the investigating judge.
The court also paid attention to the suspect's official income. In 2025, they amounted to UAH 816,758, excluding personal income tax. It was also established that he owns a 148.3-square-meter residential building in Berezivka worth UAH 909,987 and a 2014 Toyota Camry.
In addition, the suspect has bank accounts with more than UAH 2 million and about UAH 320 thousand in cash.
After considering the motion, the judge ruled to detain the suspect in custody for 59 days - from February 5 to April 4, 2026. The place of detention was determined to be the Odesa pre-trial detention center. An alternative was bail in the amount of UAH 1 million 996 thousand 800. The court motivated this decision by the existence of risks: the possibility of hiding, destroying or concealing evidence, as well as pressure on witnesses. At the same time, the suspect himself and his lawyer did not admit guilt and insisted that there were no grounds for detention, and the risks voiced by the investigation were unfounded.
According to his declaration for 2025, Gevorg Bznuni is registered and resides in Berezivka, Odesa region. He listed Berezivka Central City Hospital as his main place of work, where he holds the position of CEO, and also indicated his status as a member of the local council. His wife Natalia Bznuni also appears in the declaration.
As for real estate, the official declared a 0.8-hectare plot of land and a 128-square-meter residential building, which have been in his ownership since the end of 2017. The only vehicle listed in the declaration is a 2014 Toyota Camry purchased in August 2014 for UAH 380 thousand. This information coincides with the data provided in the court ruling.
The main income of the official in 2025 consisted of his salary at the hospital - UAH 682,704. He received another 134,054 hryvnias as a part-time neurologist at the same medical institution. The suspect's wife declared UAH 97,200 in salary received at the private enterprise Ankar-2.
Among his monetary assets, Bznuni indicated funds in bank accounts. In particular, he keeps more than UAH 2 million in Oschadbank, and about UAH 320 thousand in PrivatBank. He also declared accounts in Sens Bank, but without specifying the amounts. No securities, business, corporate rights, financial liabilities, or construction in progress were listed in the declaration.
Also in January, the court allowed the detention of Serhiy<b>Kryvenko</b>, a former MP and director of a charity foundation from Odesa region, who is suspected of organizing the illegal departure of conscripts from Kherson region abroad.
Анна Бальчінос
Feb. 10, 2026
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