Security Service of Ukraine detains chief military psychiatrist over $1 million in illicit assets, including properties and luxury cars

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained the chief psychiatrist of Ukraine’s Armed Forces over suspected illicit enrichment, according to a report by the agency on Jan. 21. While the SBU did not disclose the suspect's identity, Oleh Druz holds the position of Ukraine’s chief military psychiatrist.

The SBU said Druz acquired “unjustified assets” worth over $1 million over the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began close to three years ago.

Druz, who serves as the deputy chair of Ukraine’s Central Military Medical Commission, is responsible for determining the fitness of military personnel for service.

SBU investigators found that Druz had acquired the following assets between 2022 and 2024:

• A private house in the Kyiv Region’s Obukhiv District,
• Two apartments in Kyiv,
• One apartment in Odesa,
• Two land plots in the Kyiv Region’s Obukhiv District,
• A BMW X7 (2024 model),
• A BMW X7 (2022 model),
• A BMW X5 (2023 model),
• A BMW X3 (2022 model),
• And multiple other assets.

During searches, the investigators also discovered $152,000 and €34,000 in cash. Druz has been charged with illegal enrichment and providing false asset declarations. The charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

According to reporting by The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s military medical commissions are facing growing scrutiny amid allegations of corruption and other violations.

Authorities began scrutinizing enlistment facilities nationwide after journalists revealed in June 2023 that the family of the former head of the Odesa Region military enlistment office had acquired $4.5 million worth of property since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In response, Ukraine's defense and health ministries have pledged to reform the military medical commission system by November 2025 in order to address corruption and improve bureaucratic efficiency. In presenting the draft reform, Deputy Defense Minister Serhii Melnyk said that the principles of the commissions' work “have not changed for decades,” and the current system is “a vestige of the old administrative approach.”