National Cancer Institute exposes scheme of misappropriation of 231 million in procurement: video
14 August 14:23
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU ) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) have reported the exposure and termination of a criminal organization that profited from the procurement of medical equipment for cancer patients. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the SAPO press service.
According to the investigation, the criminal scheme involved representatives of private entities and the National Cancer Institute, and its implementation caused the state losses of more than UAH 231 million.
How the scheme worked
The investigation found that after the introduction of a budget program in 2021 to create a modern clinical base for the treatment of cancer, the actual head of Ukraine’s largest group of medical equipment suppliers organized a criminal group.
It included:
- representatives of controlled commercial entities;
- employees of the National Cancer Institute.
“The scheme involved several stages and was supposed to guarantee their companies a non-competitive victory in tenders for the supply of medical equipment. The first step was to make sure that the National Cancer Institute became the manager of budget funds. This allowed it to announce procurements and conclude contracts on its own. Representatives of the controlled companies have established full control over the procurement process,” the statement said.
Main stages of the scheme implementation
- Gaining control over budget funds
The first step was to ensure that the National Cancer Institute became the manager of budget funds. This allowed the Institute to announce procurement and conclude contracts independently. - Manipulation of the list of equipment
The list of medical equipment was formed not according to the real needs of the institute, but to the capabilities of “their” suppliers. The equipment was arranged into lots so that other companies could not submit proposals due to the lack of all items. The medical and technical requirements were prepared not by the Institute’s specialists, but by representatives of controlled companies. - Elimination of competitors
Institute officials received a list of companies from the organizers to whom requests for proposals should be sent. In the case of official representatives or distributors, the responses were controlled in terms of content and volume to create the appearance of fair competition.
Damages incurred
As a result, at the end of 2021, a number of contracts for the purchase of medical equipment were concluded between the institute and the companies in question. They did so knowing that the delivery might not take place on time, although meeting the deadlines was one of the requirements of the tender documents. In order to legally postpone the delivery along with the main agreements, in almost all cases, additional agreements were signed on the same day.
In addition, according to the investigation, the cost of the equipment was artificially inflated, sometimes by four times the initial price.
For example, in order to justify the price, foreign companies related to the organizer were included in the supply chain, the package of goods was changed, etc. This is confirmed by the low level of evidence collected by the competent authorities from 12 countries in the framework of international cooperation.
Thus, during 2021-2022, the participants in the fraud seized funds worth more than UAH 231 million.
In June 2025, the NABU and the SAPO served six people with a notice of suspicion of misappropriation of budget funds through abuse of office and participation in a criminal organization, and the organizer of the transaction was served with a notice of suspicion of creating and leading a criminal organization. Pre-trial restraints were imposed on all suspects.
Court decision
on August 12, 2025, the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) extended for another two months the duties imposed on the actual head of the group of medical equipment suppliers, who, according to the investigation, was the organizer of the scheme.
