Former Kyiv City State Administration department head to face trial over 75 million UAH embezzlement in social services

Former Kyiv City State Administration department head to face trial over 75 million UAH embezzlement in social services
Former Kyiv City State Administration department head to face trial over 75 million UAH embezzlement in social services

New indictment in the fund embezzlement case

The Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv Oblast has submitted a further indictment to the court. The document concerns criminal proceedings No. 22024101110001310 dated 16 December 2024, which investigates the alleged mass misappropriation of budget funds during the provision of social services in 2022–2023.

The investigation has been completed only for a portion of the defendants, while the investigation regarding other individuals is still ongoing. According to law enforcement, officials from the Department of Social and Veterans' Policy of the Kyiv City State Administration (Kyiv CDA) and representatives of a private company may have been involved in the scheme. The total damage to the city budget is preliminarily estimated at 75 million hryvnias.

Who is facing trial

In the summer of 2026, the indictment, which was initially sent to the Solomianskyi District Court, was transferred to the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv for consideration. In this part of the case, charges were brought against four individuals:

  • Ruslan Svitlyi, former head of the Kyiv CDA Department of Social and Veterans' Policy;
  • Tetiana Lipenko;
  • Maxym Zaiichenko;
  • Tetiana Zaiichenko.

The positions of the last three individuals are currently not disclosed; however, it is likely that they acted as individual entrepreneurs (IEs) who featured in the chain of financial operations.

Three of the defendants are suspected of committing a crime under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement of property, or acquisition thereof by abuse of office, committed on a large scale or under martial law conditions). Another defendant is charged under Part 5 of Article 191, as well as Parts 1 and 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Previous verdict: suspended sentences and asset recovery

On 17 November 2025, the Obolonskyi District Court handed down a verdict against two other defendants in the case – Hennadii Lepskyi and Ruslan Matvieiev. The court approved plea bargains concluded with the prosecution.

Hennadii Lepskyi, who was involved in the activities of Mitsne Zdorovia LLC, was found guilty under six articles of the Criminal Code, including Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation on an especially large scale), Parts 3 and 4 of Article 358 (forgery of documents), Part 4 of Article 190 (fraud), as well as organising official forgery. He was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, replaced by a three-year probation period, and a fine of 12,700 UAH.

Ruslan Matvieiev, then director of Mitsne Zdorovia LLC, was found guilty under Part 5 of Article 191, and Parts 1 and 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code. He also received eight years of imprisonment, replaced by a three-year suspended sentence, and a fine of 12,700 UAH.

As part of damage recovery, Lepskyi transferred a ZAZ A08 bus, Mercedes-Benz 316 and Fiat Fiorino vehicles to Kyiv, as well as three Fiat cars to a military unit of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. The total value of this property is estimated at 10 million UAH. Matvieiev voluntarily returned 2 million UAH in cash. Both also compensated 18,200 UAH each for the costs of court expert examinations.

Mechanism of the criminal scheme

The investigation established that after the Kyiv City Council adopted the city target programme "Care. Towards Kyivians" for 2022–2024 (Resolution No. 2726/2767 dated 7 October 2021), Oleksandr Drobovskyi developed a plan for the systematic provision of social services at inflated prices, with subsequent reimbursement of funds from the budget.

Drobovskyi entered into a conspiracy with the then department head Ruslan Svitlyi and his deputies (according to media reports, Liubov Riako and Halyna Dovhanchyn). One of the department employees invited Hennadii Lepskyi from Mitsne Zdorovia LLC to the office at 7 Liubomyr Huzar Street and offered participation in the scheme on the condition of winning tenders and further cooperation with the management.

During a meeting organised by the deputy director, Drobovskyi put forward an additional requirement: the return of 25% of the compensation amount received from the department. Lepskyi agreed to the terms and coordinated the plan with the then company director Ruslan Matvieiev.

The essence of the scheme lay in Mitsne Zdorovia LLC concluding formal contracts for the lease of real estate, transport, and supply of goods with economic entities brought in by both Matvieiev and Svitlyi himself. The actual provision of social services either did not take place, or its volume did not correspond to the contracts. Department officials helped the company prepare tender proposals with "correct" data, ensuring victory in the auctions.

Financial details and contracts

In January 2022 and February 2023, the department and Mitsne Zdorovia LLC concluded 5–6 contracts for the provision of day care services for persons with mental disorders, palliative care, and other social services. Prices were artificially inflated: in two contracts, the cost of a person-hour of palliative care was 617.58 UAH, in two – 125.96 UAH, and in one (dated February 2023) – 1,267.69 UAH. The SBU considers these indicators economically unjustified.

In particular, contracts for the lease of Fiat Nuovo Doblo, VAZ 211140, and Citroen Berlingo vehicles, as well as agreements for the supply of medical products, were concluded with one individual entrepreneur. With another individual entrepreneur – contracts for the lease of a VAZ 211140 and the supply of medicines. The court ruling notes that these contracts did not aim at the actual performance of obligations but were an instrument for the legalisation of funds obtained through criminal means.

After the submission of service acceptance certificates, which were approved by Svitlyi and his deputy without verification, the company received funds from the budget. Lepskyi and Matvieiev cashed the money, appropriated a part of it, and transferred the rest to the organiser.

The exact amount of the transferred funds has not yet been finally established: figures of 109 million and 149 million UAH appear in various documents. The size of the damage also varied: initially, 57.7 million UAH was cited (March 2025), then 75 million UAH (July 2025, during Svitlyi's detention). The verdict against Lepskyi and Matvieiev includes various episodes of damage (10.6; 11.5; 13.2; 37 million UAH, etc.), which totals approximately 75 million UAH.

Additional episodes: fake disability and escape

Hennadii Lepskyi was also found guilty of obtaining "fake disability". In November 2022, the Dnipro Interdistrict Medical and Social Expert Commission established his disability based on forged certificates from the State Institution "Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 11", the State Institution "Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 6", and the State Institution "Institute of Neurosurgery". From November 2022 to January 2025, Lepskyi illegally received 424,700 UAH in pension payments.

Law enforcement believes that it was with the help of a military medical commission certificate, Medical and Social Expert Commission documents, and a medical card extract that Lepskyi attempted to leave Ukraine. These documents were found in a 2023 Porsche Cayenne on 18 March 2025 at the "Uhriniv-Dolhobychiv" border crossing point in Lviv Oblast, where he was detained.

Initially, the SBU considered Lepskyi to be the organiser of the scheme, but later the version changed, and Oleksandr Drobovskyi was named the organiser. At his workplace at the State Institution "Clinical Hospital 'Psychiatry'", where Lepskyi was deputy director for economic issues, he was given an impeccable character reference, which lawyers used in court.

Fate of other defendants

On 4 September 2026, the Holosiivskyi District Court closed criminal proceedings No. 22025101110001077 regarding Oleksandr Drobovskyi under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The court noted that the pre-trial investigation period was missed by at least 4 months and 1 day. This is likely related to the fact that Drobovskyi is outside Ukraine and has been placed on the international wanted list.

The fate of the two deputies of the former department head – Liubov Riako and Halyna Dovhanchyn – is unknown. In March 2025, they were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code, but indictments against them appear not to have been drawn up yet. Both continue to work in the department.

About the defendants

Mitsne Zdorovia LLC was registered in September 2020. The founder and ultimate beneficiary is Ruslan Matvieiev. Until January 2026, he was the director, after which Hennadii Lepskyi took the position. Previously, Lepskyi worked as deputy director of the Kyiv CDA Department of Health and head of the economics department of this department (2017–2019).

Oleksandr Drobovskyi, according to media reports, is a first (or second) cousin of Mykhailo Radutskyi – former advisor to Kyiv CDA head Vitalii Klitschko on health issues and a member of parliament of the IX convocation from the "Servant of the People" party, who heads the committee on national health issues. Previously, Drobovskyi was suspected of involvement in manipulations in tenders for municipal hospitals, where the city budget overpaid for medicines by 3–5 times. Some companies from that case, according to the National Police, have links to the business of Mykola Kuzma.

Ruslan Svitlyi headed the Municipal Enterprise "Pharmacy" in 2014–2019, and from September 2019 to the end of May 2025 – the Kyiv CDA Department of Social Policy. In December 2024, the SBU informed him of suspicion of obtaining "fake" Group II disability based on forged medical documents in 2022, which allowed him to avoid conscription and receive a pension (nearly 300,000 UAH was accrued). Svitlyi's dismissal "by mutual agreement of the parties" coincided with scandals.

Liubov Riako worked as deputy director of the Fund for Social Protection of Disabled Persons in 2015. Halyna Dovhanchyn headed the department of state target programmes and procurement of the Ministry of Health during the leadership of Raisa Bohatyriova, when scandalous purchases of ambulances at inflated prices took place.

Historical context of the department's problems

The activities of the Kyiv CDA Department of Social and Veterans' Policy have repeatedly raised questions. In 2016, journalists of "Slidstvo.Info" reported that the then head Yuri Krykunov influenced the formation of lists of enterprises for tax preferences. In 2019, the SBU and the National Bureau of Investigation opened cases regarding "budget embezzlements", establishing the receipt of 10% "kickbacks" and a budget loss of approximately 6–13.5 million UAH through cooperation with three private companies.

In June 2025, the National Police initiated an investigation into embezzlements in seven municipal institutions of the department amounting to 165.7 million UAH during capital repairs and the construction of shelters. The investigation points to the department head (Svitlyi or the current head Maxym Buchenko), who gave instructions to conclude contracts with "needed" companies. The owner of one of such companies is a relative of the director of the Kyiv CDA Department of Finance, Volodymyr Repika, who is a suspect in the loss of over half a billion hryvnias.

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