14 September 2023, Thursday, 16:58 284

Ex-Minister of Health Stepanov arrested

Editor: Tetiana Herasimova

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The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has arrested in absentia the former Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov, who is suspected of appropriating and legalizing half a billion hryvnias.

This decision was made by the High Anti-Corruption Court on September 13, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

At the request of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NACB) detectives, agreed by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SACPO) prosecutor, the investigative judge of the HACC chose a preventive measure for the former director of the Polygraph Combine State Enterprise (Stepanov), suspected of appropriating and legalizing half a billion hryvnias.

The court agreed with the arguments of the prosecutor and chose the suspect a preventive measure in the form of detention.

After the person is detained and delivered to the place of pre-trial investigation, the investigating judge will decide on the use of this preventive measure.

The NACB and the SACPO suspect Stepanov of possessing more than UAH 450 million when he headed the State Enterprise “Polygraph Combine “Ukraina”.

Earlier, the HACC determined the bail to Serhii Ferlii, head of the Polygraph Combine department responsible for international transactions.

But since he did not pay the bail, the NACB detective asked to change for him the preventive measure to another.

The court changed his restraint to round-the-clock house arrest.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the former Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov, suspected of laundering UAH 450 million, went abroad at the beginning of the year.

According to the investigation, Stepanov disguised as a sale 45% of his shares in an offshore enterprise (in fact it did not work), where an Estonian company withdrew funds to another controlled company for USD 1.35 million.

Some of the funds in the amount of USD 150,000 were transferred directly to the accounts of Stepanov's relatives.