HACC arrested ex-Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov in absentia

The former Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov was arrested in absentia in the case of money laundering at the state-owned enterprise "Ukraine Printing Plant" for more than 450 million hryvnias.

According to the investigation, in 2013, the then head of the polygraph factory bought an Estonian company through a proxy, through which he organized the purchase of materials for the production of forms for passports, ID cards, driverʼs licenses, etc.

The gasket company purchased materials directly from manufacturers, and then resold them to a state-owned enterprise at prices that were four to six times higher. According to this scheme, more than 450 million hryvnias were withdrawn from the enterprise.

In addition, the suspects registered the intellectual property right to the graphic elements of Ukrainian passports with a foreign company, which allowed them to receive additional remuneration — royalties. The Cabinet of Ministers stopped these payments at the beginning of 2022 at the initiative of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecution (SAP).

In total, there are five suspects in the case. In addition to Stepanov, this is the former head of the department of the printing plant, two citizens of Estonia who worked in the laying company, and another Ukrainian, who is considered an accomplice.