Kyiv pharmacy chain "El’Pharm" sells prohibited Russian drugs, - mass media. PHOTO
The capital's El'Pharm pharmacy chain, despite the ban, sells Russian and Western medicines produced specifically for the Russian market.
This is stated in an investigation by Schemes journalists, Censor.NET reports with reference to Radio Liberty.
The El'Pharm chain has a state licence and has been operating in Kyiv for at least six years. It sells illegal medicines without hiding much, which Schemes found publicly mentioned on the Internet. Despite this, El'Pharm has successfully passed annual inspections by the State Service of Medicines.
"The Schemes conducted an experiment and purchased illegal drugs from El'Pharm. Thus, journalists discovered that, despite the ban, El'Pharm was selling the Russian drug Cortexin, which is manufactured by Geropharm in the Moscow region, and medicines produced by Western companies specifically for the Russian market: "Atarax by the Belgian company UCB Pharma and Vobenzyme by the German company Mucos Pharma.
Selling Russian medicines in Ukraine has been banned since June 2022, which could result in a pharmacy being stripped of its licence and its owners being fined at least UAH 1,700. And if cooperation with Russian companies is proven, they can even be imprisoned for up to 12 years for aiding the aggressor. The sale of Western medicines manufactured for the markets of other countries, including Russia, is also banned, and pharmacies face the possibility of having their licences revoked and their owners fined.
"The Schemes found that El'Pharm s Western medicines for the Russian market are sold online through the website Tabletki.ua. This is a price aggregator that offers information on the availability and prices of medicines in various pharmacies and allows you to book them online. El'Pharm s Russian medicines are sold more cautiously - by pre-ordering by phone and then sending them to the customer by Nova Poshta.
The owners of the El'Pharm chain are brothers Ashgin and Elvin Bagirov, citizens of Azerbaijan who live in Kyiv.
"Schemes appealed to the State Service on Medicines and Drugs Control to find out why the capital's El'Pharm chain was openly selling illegal drugs under the supervision of the regulatory authority. The agency said it had received ten complaints from citizens about the pharmacy's activities and conducted eight inspections. During these inspections, violations were detected three times, which were reported to law enforcement and for which the owners were fined.
However, all this did not lead to the closure of the Bagirovs' pharmacies and the cancellation of their licences. They still operate and sell illegal drugs, journalists say.
"The Schemes turned to law enforcement to find out whether they knew about the sale of illegal drugs in the El'Pharm pharmacy chain. Subsequently, the Bahirovs' house was searched and more than 50 medicines manufactured, among other things, in Russia were seized. The police opened criminal proceedings and reported that they had stopped "the sale of Russian-made medicines that had entered the territory of Ukraine illegally." But even after the searches and the criminal case, the Bahirov brothers continued to sell illegal medicines, Schemes found. Neither Elvin nor Eshgin Bagirov was served with a notice of suspicion by law enforcement.
The journalists continued the experiment and again ordered a banned Russian drug, Cortexin, from El'Pharm. The packaging of this drug was sent to Schemes by mail by Elvin Bagirov.
