Ukraine's Tax Service sees 16 resignations amid disability certificate controversy
The head of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Danil Getmantsev, announced that 16 officials from the State Tax Service resigned following a scandal involving disability certificates, according to his Telegram post.
"Rumors have it that the State Tax Service reviewed all materials related to individuals in leadership positions, including regional ones, who obtained disability status after February 24, 2022. A total of 17 such individuals were identified. One person received disability status due to a frontline injury," Getmantsev wrote.
The remaining 16 individuals "made a voluntary and honest decision to leave the service," the lawmaker added.
Getmantsev also expects similar information from other agencies under the jurisdiction of the Tax Committee: the State Customs Service, the Economic Security Bureau, the State Financial Monitoring Service, the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
The scandal surrounding disability certificates erupted after searches were conducted at the residence of the head of the Khmelnytskyi Medical and Social Expert Commission, Tetiana Krupa, and her relatives at the beginning of October. Nearly $6 million in various currencies was found, and falsified medical documents and lists of potential draft dodgers with surnames and fake diagnoses were discovered at Krupa's workplace. On October 5, Krupa was detained and charged with illegal enrichment. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of all property.
On October 16, journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that about 50 prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi Oblast were found to be second-degree disabled, according to a decision by the chief doctor of the MSEC, Krupa.
Following this, the issue was brought to the National Security and Defense Council, and as a result of the meeting, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin resigned, and the MSEC system was decided to be disbanded.