Former Khabarovsk Health Ministry Head Arrested in Embezzlement Case

The petition for a preventive measure was considered on August 21. The court ruling has not yet been published. There is currently no information on the length of the detention.

According to TASS, the arrest of Yuri Boychenko may be connected with the investigation of the criminal case against the former Deputy Chairman of the Khabarovsk Krai Government for Social Issues, Yevgeny Nikonov, who was detained in July 2024. At that time, law enforcement officials reported that a case had been opened against several officials of the Khabarovsk Krai Ministry of Health and other defendants under Part 4 of Article 159 (fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale) and Part 3 of Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of office, resulting in grave consequences). The names of the alleged defendants were not disclosed.

Later, six more criminal cases were combined into one proceeding, including a case opened on August 15, 2023, on the alleged fact of giving and receiving a bribe through an intermediary on an especially large scale - under Part 6 of Article 290 (receiving a bribe), Part 5 of Article 291 (giving a bribe), Part 4 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (mediation in bribery).

The investigation into the bribery case against Nikonov was completed in December 2024. He was charged with receiving 82 million rubles from a representative of an unnamed group of companies. Law enforcement officials claim that Nikonov allegedly received the money together with officials of the Far Eastern Center for Drug Supply and Coordination of Activities of Medical Organizations, whose names are not disclosed. Since his arrest by court order, Yevgeny Nikonov has been in pretrial detention; his pretrial detention has been extended several times. The former official does not admit guilt.

Yuriy Boychenko headed the Khabarovsk Krai Ministry of Health since December 2020. At the end of January 2024, the media reported his resignation; the Ministry of Health confirmed the official's dismissal, specifying that he left the post due to family circumstances.

In April 2025, Yuriy Boychenko was brought to administrative responsibility under Part 3 of Article 15.15.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (violation of the procedure and (or) conditions for the provision (spending) of interbudget transfers). Then the Khabarovsk Transport Prosecutor's Office established that the Khabarovsk Territorial Center for Disaster Medicine in 2023-2024 concluded contracts with local airlines and the Khabarovsk Aviation Rescue Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry to provide emergency specialized medical care.

Representatives of the supervisory authority reported that, as a result, aircraft of the wrong year of manufacture and without medical equipment were used to perform the work, and the regional Ministry of Health accepted and paid for the work for a total of more than 21 million rubles and did not ensure control over the spending of funds and the conduct of inspections. Then Boychenko was fined (the amount of the fine is not disclosed).