Ukraine's Chief Military Psychiatrist detained in major corruption crackdown
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has apprehended Oleg Druz, the chief psychiatrist of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), on charges of illegal enrichment. The arrest, made public on Tuesday, January 21, also identifies Druz as the "deputy chairman of the Central Military Medical Commission, responsible for assessing the fitness of military personnel for service."
According to investigations, the official acquired unexplained assets worth over $1 million during the Russian invasion. These assets, reportedly not listed in his declarations, were registered under his wife, daughter, sons, and other associates, as stated in an SBU press release.
Between 2022 and 2024, Druz allegedly bought a house in the Kyiv region, two apartments in Kyiv, one in Odessa, four BMW cars, along with other properties. Furthermore, law enforcement discovered $152,000 and €34,000 during a search. The suspect is accused of illegal enrichment and false declaration of information, facing up to 10 years if convicted.
In another notable incident in December 2023, the SBU detained a head of a key department of Ukraine's Defense Ministry for allegedly attempting to embezzle 1.5 billion hryvnias (approximately 36 million euros at the time), earmarked for the procurement of artillery shells for the AFU. Following the incident, Illarion Pavlyuk, head of the press and information department of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, asserted efforts to recover funds funneled through a corrupt scheme, stating, "This was a contract involving payments, but no deliveries were made."
In August 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the preparation of a bill equating wartime corruption with treason, which could lead to sentences up to 15 years.
Moreover, in May 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) arrested former Chief Justice of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, for alleged illicit gain.
Earlier, in January of the same year, NABU and SAP detained Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure Vasyl Lozinsky allegedly accepting $400,000. Lozinsky is suspected of profiting illegally by facilitating agreements for equipment and machinery acquisition at inflated prices.