Kyiv court convicts an intermediary of a foreign drug manufacturer
Corruption in the pharmaceutical market: Kyiv court convicts an intermediary of a foreign drug manufacturer (photo: freepik.com)
A Kyiv court has concluded the hearing of a case involving an attempt to influence the quality control system for medicines. The defendant was a representative of a foreign pharmaceutical manufacturer, Ukrainski Novyny reports.
In September 2025, the Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv approved a plea agreement in a case concerning an attempted bribe of an official involved in state quality control of medicines.
The defendant was Bhargava Sarvesh, an Indian citizen who represented the interests of a foreign pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Case details
According to court materials, the case concerned an attempt to obtain a positive GMP conclusion for Naprod Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd despite significant violations identified during an inspection of the company’s manufacturing facilities in India.
The inspection was conducted in spring 2025 by inspectors of the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Quality Institute," who recorded more than six critical non-compliances with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.
Under current legislation, such violations make it impossible to issue a positive GMP conclusion and require the deficiencies to be remedied, followed by a repeat inspection. However, according to investigators, the manufacturer’s representative attempted to influence not the production process, but the inspection results.
The court established that between April and June 2025, Sarvesh repeatedly contacted an official of the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control (Derzhliksluzhba), who could influence the formalization of inspection results. During these contacts, he offered USD 30,000 to amend the inspection report to reduce the number of recorded violations.
In June 2025, the first tranche of the bribe—USD 15,000—was handed over at one of Kyiv’s restaurants. The transfer of funds took place under the supervision of law enforcement agencies after the official reported the attempted bribery.
Court decision
The court concluded that the defendant's actions were systematic and deliberate, aimed at obtaining a regulatory permit without actually remedying the identified violations. As a result, Bhargava Sarvesh was found guilty of attempting to provide an unlawful benefit to a public official.
He was fined UAH 622,378 (approximately USD 14,600), and previously imposed preventive measures and asset seizures were lifted.
The case materials note that Sarvesh had worked on the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market for a long time and was associated with a number of companies in Ukraine and abroad. The court separately emphasized that the defendant was fully aware of regulatory requirements and the consequences of inspections.
Previously, we reported on key changes in the regulation of Ukraine's pharmaceutical sector.
It has also become known that the Cabinet of Ministers will conduct weekly checks of medicine prices, with pharmacies facing fines for excessive markups.
