(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine has uncovered an illicit scheme to obtain disability benefits involving prosecutors and members of medical commissions, in the latest corruption scandal to hit the war-torn nation.
An investigation has led to the resignation of the country’s top prosecutor and prompted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a revamp of the system to increase its transparency. It comes as Ukraine seeks to reassure western allies that it’s made headways in fighting corruption as it relies heavily on their military and financial support to repel Russia’s invasion.
Dozens of public officials, including more than 60 regional prosecutors fraudulently obtained disability status to receive additional benefit payments, the investigation showed. The scheme allowed medical workers to illicitly enrich themselves.
In one example which has caused public outrage, nearly $6 million was found by investigators during a search of the home of the head of the medical commission in the central Khmelnytskyi region.
Significant corruption scandals have rocked Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Last August, Zelenskiy dismissed the regional heads of all military recruitment offices after multiple allegations of bribery in exchange for draft evasion. A month later, issues related to food procurement for the army led to the resignation of the defense minister.
Corruption remains a pressing issue for the country’s western backers. They have spent tens of billions of dollars on filling the gap in Ukraine’s budgets, such as paying pensions and wages to civil servants. Earlier this week, the European Parliament approved a loan to cover Ukraine’s public spending for up to €35 billion, backed by Russian assets.
Meanwhile, some US Republicans and other groups skeptical of continued aid to Ukraine have repeatedly cited corruption to justify their positions. Ahead of a closely-contested presidential election, Kyiv is very aware of the effect this could have on its ability to fight back.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has responded to the scandal by ordering the abolition of the medical examination commissions by the end of the year. Doctors from the commissions have already faced allegations over accepting bribes from men seeking to claim disability status to avoid the draft.
“The problem is not only that officials use their connections to obtain disability status,” Zelenskiy said in a regular video address to the nation Tuesday. “People with real disabilities, in particular those disabled in combat, are often unable to get proper status and fair payments.”
To address the issue quickly, Zelenskiy urged the full digitalization of the disability assessment process. He also ordered an audit of pensions and other payments to all officials who have obtained disability status for themselves.
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