Former chief freelance psychiatrist-narcologist Yevgeny Bryun detained amid fraud and embezzlement allegations
In a move that has drawn wide attention, Yevgeny Bryun, a former leading figure in the Russian health system and a prominent narcologist, was taken into custody as part of an investigation into alleged large-scale financial crimes. Law enforcement sources indicated that after initial questioning, authorities would decide on an appropriate restraint measure. SEAD remains the subject of an ongoing probe conducted by the Anti-Corruption Task Center. The inquiry is examining whether Bryun, and a circle of associates, were involved in shaping new rules for medical examinations of drivers. The scope of the investigation has included searches of 27 locations, encompassing the offices of multiple companies tied to the case and the residences of Bryun and several colleagues. These steps underscore the seriousness with which investigators are treating the allegations and reflect a broader effort to scrutinize procurement and testing practices within the sector.
Purchase of test systems and inflation of prices
According to a Telegram channel linked to investigative reporting, Vladimir Yakushev, the vice-president of the Russian Narcological Union, was also detained. Investigators report that the suspects organized the purchase of drug-detection tests and reagents at inflated prices through a network of affiliated firms. A source familiar with the case cited to RIA Novosti notes that the criminal proceedings are tied to tenders for supplying these test systems, with references to contracts involving one of the implicated companies. The revelations touch on how procurement processes may have been manipulated to benefit certain players within the sector, raising questions about oversight and accountability in government purchases.
REN TV has reported that the criminal case arose after a 2019 incident when a new regulation for issuing medical certificates to drivers in Russia was introduced. Bryun had been an outspoken advocate for widespread CDT testing, a biomarker that can indicate chronic alcohol use. Mediatrade, a company whose founder, Yakushev, reportedly maintained close ties with Bryun, aided regional medical institutions in acquiring equipment and reagents necessary for detecting the CDT marker in biological fluids. The cost for such testing devices typically ranges in the millions of rubles, and their limited availability means that widespread CDT testing has not always been feasible at all facilities. This context helps explain why the regulatory changes around driver medical certificates attracted attention and sparked debate among stakeholders in the field.
In February 2020, law enforcement began checks into Bryun’s history with testing practice, while the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) began scrutinizing Mediatrade LLC. Since 2015, Mediatrade had secured multiple government contracts, totaling more than 57 million rubles, highlighting a pattern that investigators are examining for possible conflicts of interest, inflated pricing, and the use of intermediaries to influence public procurement.
Who is Bryun?
Bryun’s career in medicine began after graduating from the Khabarovsk State Medical Institute in 1973. Since 1987, he led the department tasked with organizing care for patients with drug addiction and substance abuse at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry. In 1988, he established the USSR’s first anonymous service and hotline for drug addicts. His professional trajectory continued with leadership roles between 1998 and 2017 as director and then head of the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center for the Prevention of Drug Addiction. In 2009, he was appointed chief freelance specialist (psychiatrist-narcologist) for the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
Following the news of his detention, the Ministry of Health announced his dismissal from the head role and his status as a self-employed psychiatrist-narcologist. The ministry indicated that the position of chief freelance specialist of a psychiatrist-narcologist had been removed from the official nomenclature as part of the ongoing organizational changes within the ministry. Yakushev, with ties to Mediatrade and to Bryun, had previously played a leadership role in the Russian Narcological Association and in the Narcologists’ Association led by Bryun, underscoring the interconnections that investigators are examining in the case.