Latest Videos
The Chief Army Psychiatrist of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been arrested over allegations of "illegal enrichment" related to earnings of around $1 million since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
Knewz.com has learned that while the man has not been named in the Security Service of Ukraine statement, Oleh Druz was previously named as the chief psychiatrist of the Ukrainian armed forces.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the accused individual earned a commission "deciding whether individuals were fit for military service," reports have mentioned.
It has been reported that the recently arrested chief army psychiatrist owned three apartments in or near Kyiv, one in Odesa, two plots of land, and several BMW luxury cars—none of which he officially declared.
It has been reported that the properties were registered under the names of his wife, daughter, sons, and other third parties.
Security Service investigators also found $152,000 in cash after searching the man's home.
Druz, who is believed to be the chief army psychiatrist in question, was previously implicated in a similar case in 2017 when failed to declare two SUVs and several properties—a revelation that led to him being suspended.
The army psychiatrist currently faces ten years of incarceration if convicted on charges of "illegal enrichment and making a false declaration," it has been reported.
It is worth noting in this regard that the Ukrainian Parliament voted in 2024 to have military medical commissions abolished, after several officials were found to have taken commissions or bribes in exchange for exempting someone from military service.
In May 2024, a Ukrainian Member of Parliament was charged with embezzling $271,885 in funds, according to reports.
In 2023, over 30 conscription officials were accused of taking bribes and smuggling people out of the country. The accused officials were fired during a government anti-corruption purge.
It has been reported that the nation has battled "endemic corruption since the first days of its independence in 1991, and government officials and independent campaigners alike say that fight is key to winning the existential war it is fighting with Russia."
Ukraine's war against corruption showed positive results in 2024, with anti-corruption organization Transparency International ranking the country at its highest level since 2006—104th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index.
One of the most significant results achieved by anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine was the arrest of the then-Supreme Court head, Vsevolod Knyazev, on bribery charges in May 2023.
Furthermore, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky and an officer with the Security Service of Ukraine's intelligence service, Artem Shylo, were arrested as part of the efforts as well.
Andriy Borovyk, the executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, said in a statement to BBC in 2024:
"Most Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions are showing pretty good results... This can be a safeguard because if you see somebody arrested, you will think twice before doing something corrupt."
In his statement, Borovyk said at the time that Ukraine needs to focus on rooting out corruption in its tax and customs services, as well as improve financial oversight.
"A lot of money is coming to Ukraine from the West, and of course they are asking whether there is proper control over this money," he said.