Only three out of 17 prosecutors from Khmelnytskyi were able to confirm their disability status

Of the 17 prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi who underwent verification for the authenticity of their assigned disability status, only three were able to confirm it. Five had their disability status downgraded to a lower group, and nine were found to have received disability status without justification.

This was reported by Member of Parliament Volodymyr Ariev on Facebook, citing a response from the Ministry of Health.

“On November 1, Health Minister [Viktor] Liashko officially informed me that verifying the disability status of 73 prosecutors would take three months. Two of those months have now passed. The interim results are as follows: 56 prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi have not yet been checked; five had their status downgraded from Group II to Group III; three confirmed their disability; and nine defrauded the state by obtaining disability status without justification. Thus, 17 prosecutors have been reviewed in two months. One month remains to examine 56 more cases. Simple math raises doubts that this will be completed by February 1. After the three-month period expires, I will definitely follow up with the minister,” Ariev wrote.

He added that the nine prosecutors with fraudulent disability statuses should not only be dismissed from the prosecution service but also face criminal charges for fraud. Those involved in facilitating the scheme should also be held accountable as accomplices. However, according to Ariev, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated it does not see sufficient grounds for action.

At the end of December, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that without confirmed evidence of falsified disability documents, it is impossible to dismiss these prosecutors.

In October, it was revealed that one-fifth of prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi Oblast had obtained disability status. The Prosecutor General’s Office then announced the start of an investigation into the matter.