Odesa Anesthesiologist Fined ₴ 330,276 for Influence Peddling Scheme

The Suvorovskyi District Court of Odesa found an anesthesiologist at the Odesa Regional Hospital guilty of influence peddling and sentenced him to a fine of UAH 330,276.

The case concerns a corruption scheme reported by the State Bureau of Investigation in October 2024, according to Anti-Corruption Dimension.

At that time, only the anesthesiologist was suspected, but other officials and doctors of the medical and social expert commission and hospitals of the city were considered to be involved. In particular, the State Bureau of Investigation reported that he involved 12 doctors from different institutions of the city, officials of the Odesa Regional Center for Medical and Social Expertise and their relatives who acted as intermediaries in his illegal scheme. The cost of the services ranged from six to 12 thousand US dollars, depending on the complexity of the diagnosis and the required disability group.

In early May 2024, an anesthesiologist at the Odesa Regional Hospital promised to help a man get a second disability group in exchange for a bribe. For this, the doctor allegedly had to agree with officials of the Odesa Regional MSEC. Law enforcement officers believe that later, in May, the anesthesiologist received $8,000 in bribes on the hospital's premises. The money was transferred through an intermediary.

The doctor was detained and notified of suspicion of influence peddling. During the court hearing, the anesthesiologist pleaded guilty to the charges. He explained that the stranger offered him a reward to negotiate with the medical and social expert on the second group of disability for health reasons.

The doctor assured that he had no agreements with the MSEC staff and had no authority to assign a disability group. Nevertheless, he agreed to the bribe offer, according to him, because of his own financial difficulties.

Кирило Бойко