The High Anti-Corruption Court has ordered the arrest of former Health Minister of Ukraine, Maxim Stepanov, in absentia

The highest anti-corruption court has ordered the arrest of former Health Minister of Ukraine Maxim Stepanov in absentia on suspicion of embezzling over 450 million hryvnias during his tenure as the head of the state enterprise “Polygraphic Combine Ukraine.”

This information was published by the press services of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

“On September 13, 2023, at the request of NABU detectives, approved by the SAP prosecutor, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure of detention on the former director of the State Enterprise ‘Polygraphic Combine,’ who is suspected of embezzlement and money laundering totaling half a billion hryvnias. The court agreed with the prosecutor’s arguments and ordered the suspect’s detention. After the individual’s arrest and delivery to the pre-trial investigation location, the investigative judge will decide on the application of this preventive measure,” the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office stated.

According to the investigation, the suspect once acquired an Estonian company through proxies, which was used to procure materials for making passport blanks, ID cards, driver’s licenses and so on. The intermediary company purchased materials directly from manufacturers and then resold them to the state enterprise at prices inflated by four to six times.

The scheme, as per SAP’s information, operated between 2013 and 2016 and involved Estonian citizens. The funds acquired were laundered in various countries.

The cost of the products produced by the “Polygraphic Combine Ukraine” was artificially increased during that time due to corrupt practices, emphasized the prosecutor’s office. “Every citizen of Ukraine, when obtaining documents (primarily passports for traveling abroad), was forced to pay an inflated price,” the statement read.

The identity of the suspect is not mentioned in the announcements from the anti-corruption agencies but during 2013-2016, Maxim Stepanov was the head of the Polygraphic Combine Ukraine. According to the publication “Slovo i Delo,” it is indeed referring to him.

As per media reports, on July 20, he was notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 (embezzlement) and Part 3 of Article 209 (money laundering) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as part of an investigation into corruption schemes at this state enterprise.

Stepanov served as the director of the Polygraphic Combine Ukraine from December 2011 to January 2017, then led the Odessa Regional State Administration until April 2019. He held the position of Health Minister from March 2020 to May 2021.