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Ukraine arrests deputy health minister over bribery

Friday, 08 July 2016 2:39 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 July 2016 5:22 PM ]

Vasyl Grutsak, chief of Ukraine's State Security Service, known as the SBU, speaks during a press conference in Kiev, August 28, 2015. (AFP)

Ukraine's security service has arrested the deputy health minister for allegedly receiving bribery in exchange for providing patients with essential treatment and operations.

Vasyl Grutsak, chief of Ukraine's State Security Service, known as the SBU, said on Friday that Deputy Health Minister Roman Vasylyshyn was directly receiving the money doctors collect "from sick patients for operations" at a state-funded hospital in the capital, Kiev.

"We were shocked by what the deputy health minister was doing," Grutsak said. "In all, during his detention and as a result of searches, we confiscated more than $50,000 (45,200 euros) and 320,000 hryvnias ($12,900)."

Vasylyshyn faces a prison sentence of eight to 12 years if convicted. He is the most senior official detained since the formation of a new cabinet in April.

Ukraine has been under fire for a corruption scandal involving politicians and senior figures in the government and the presidential administration.

Commenting on the arrest, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said in a message posted on his Facebook account, "I would like to stress that not a single corrupt official will be able to avoid prosecution."

Ukraine's healthcare system is chronically underfunded with doctors calling for higher payments in return for proper treatment and good care.

The news comes as the country's eastern regions have witnessed a deadly conflict over the past two years.

More than 9,500 people have been killed since April 2014, when Kiev launched its formal military action against pro-Russians following a referendum in March that year in Crimea, where the ethnic Russian-speaking people voted for rejoining the Russian Federation. Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of having a hand in the conflict. Moscow denies the allegation.

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