"Physicians’ Case": There Are New Figurants Of Mopping Up Ministry Of Health

The names of other high-ranking medical officials, who were detained in Belarus, have become known.

We remind that on June 25, KGB chairman Valer Vakulchyk reported that the committee had uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in Belarus’ healthcare sector, 33 people were detained. Among them –director of the Center for Expertise and Testing in Healthcare Aliaksandr Staliarou, for resolving issues on state registration of medicines; Belmedtekhnika director Aliaksandr Sharak, for organizing the conclusion and execution of contracts, ensuring timely payment and realization of purchases. Head of the Health Department of Hrodna Region Executive Committee Andrei Stryzhak and head of the military-medical administration of the Defense Ministry Aliaksei Yaskou are also among the defendants. Later it became known about the detention of head physician of Minsk regional hospital Andrei Karalko.

According to tut.by, recently the list was replenished by no less famous persons. In particular, by Deputy Minister of Health Ihar Lasitski. He had overall charge and control over the construction, reconstruction and development of the material and technical base of the healthcare industry. He supervised the circulation of medical products in Belarus and licensing, was chairman of the profile commissions of the Ministry of Health and Belmedtekhnika, the ministry’s website reports.

Lasitski became deputy minister in March 2013. Before that, he was the head of the health department of the Brest regional executive committee for five years and the chief doctor of the Brest regional children's hospital for seven years. He was considered a protege of former minister Vasil Zharko.

Director of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Traumatology and Orthopedics Aliaksandr Bialetski became another victim of the large-scale mopping up operation of the security officials.

"Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician... Aliaksandr Bialetski is a respected person. And many a dozen of such people, respected doctors, are in jail. The situation is very sad. Soon there will be no doctors left in the country," – one of the medical center employees says.

"It's very strange that only now we have tackled this topic. Although, the contradictory system of procurement and licensing in the Ministry of Health has been known to everybody for a very long time. Only the lazy did not talk about it. In the end, everyone adjusted. And it was necessary to suppress all the processes when gathering momentum. Why did not they do it 5-7-10 years ago, but allowed such a scale? This is the key question today," – the top manager of a foreign pharmaceutical company, which delivers medicines and medical equipment to Belarus, says.

The press services of the KGB and the Ministry of Health didn’t comment on the situation.