Head of Ingushetian perinatal centre faces new charges following maternity deaths

The Supreme Court of Ingushetia has ordered that Madina Khutieva, the chief physician of the Republican Clinical Perinatal Centre in Nazran, remain in custody until the end of May. Alongside existing charges of large-scale fraud, she now faces accusations of abuse of power. The criminal prosecution has been fuelled in part by a wave of complaints about the standard of medical care and a series of deaths of mothers and newborns at the facility she headed.

According to the investigation, in 2024, Khutieva signed a direct supply contract for goods for the perinatal centre, bypassing the required tender procedure. The contract totalled ₽3.1 million ($34,000), of which more than ₽2.5 million ($28,000) was allegedly overpaid. At the time of signing, the centre already owed over ₽36 million ($400,000) to other contractors — a level of debt that investigators said should have barred Khutieva from signing new agreements without higher-level approval.

Khutieva is also accused of embezzling funds from the Territorial Compulsory Health Insurance Fund in 2022. The case involves 26 contracts for the provision and payment of medical services under the compulsory health insurance policy — a total of over ₽13 million ($150,000) was transferred to the accounts of the companies MIDI and VAS and to an account belonging to someone registered as an individual entrepreneur under the last name Matieva. According to investigators, these entities were part of a conspiracy and used the funds at their own discretion, with no services actually provided to the perinatal centre. The Supreme Court of Ingushetia stated that ‘the accused disposed of the funds as they saw fit’.

Patients and relatives of women in labour have complained about the lack of basic facilities at the centre. According to them, the maternity hospital has no central heating or kitchen facilities, and staff refuse to provide assistance without receiving ‘unofficial’ payments — meaning bribes. Some women said they were simply ignored during critical moments.

In January 2025, it was reported that Khava Yevloeva had died after spending a month in a coma at the Nazran perinatal centre. Her newborn infant also died.

After both the deaths, the Investigative Committee reported that an inquiry had been launched.

Khutieva’s appointment as chief doctor in January 2022 came amid ongoing scandals and numerous complaints about the management of the institution. However, according to sources, the change in leadership did not lead to any systemic improvements. Investigators believe Khutieva’s actions not only caused significant damage to the budget but may also have affected the quality and timeliness of medical care provided to women in the region.

If found guilty, Khutieva could face up to 10 years in prison. She is currently being held in a pre-trial detention facility, and the investigation is ongoing. The Ministry of Health of Ingushetia has not yet commented on the situation publicly.

This was not the first investigation into the centre, however.

In February 2022, law enforcement authorities opened a criminal negligence case against doctors at the centre, after three women and their babies received inadequate medical care.

A woman and child later died, while another child fell into a coma.

Reportedly, the woman who died was Madina Ausheva, who was admitted to the Republican Clinical Perinatal Centre in Nazran on 29 November 2021. Three hours later, she gave birth to a boy, and the next day fell into a coma. An investigation into the centre was launched only after Ausheva’s relatives appealed to the prosecutor’s office and the head of the republic.

After this case, chief physician Lyudmila Khalukhaeva was dismissed — but it later emerged that she had merely stepped down from her management position and continued working as an obstetrician-gynaecologist.

In 2018, another patient, Makka Khamuratova — a mother of six — reportedly fell into a coma at the same perinatal centre. Though she later regained consciousness, she remained paralysed.

Chief doctor of an Ingush perinatal centre accused of embezzlement

Madina Khutieva has been charged with embezzling more than ₽8.7 million ($87,000) in extra-budgetary funds.

OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova