Death for Profit: How Corruption Has Infiltrated Ukraine’s Funeral Industry

Death for Profit: How Corruption Has Infiltrated Ukraine’s Funeral Industry

As the people of Ukraine endure the long shadow of nearly three-year-long war, death is a constant specter. While the number of military casualties is estimated in the hundreds of thousands, civilian deaths are also mounting; in fact, civilian casualties in Ukraine were 27% higher from January to October 2025, compared to the same period last year.

From a deathcare perspective, one might assume that Ukrainian funeral professionals would be overwhelmed by families knocking down their doors in need of funeral services. Sadly, though, the plethora of deaths has instead led to a corrupt cottage industry, where private “funeral operators” are in a macabre race to secure bodies — laws and ethics be damned.

Body hunters

Multiple investigations by international and Ukrainian outlets reveal a pattern of bribery, price-gouging and outright predatory practices that target bereaved families and exploit the state’s efforts to honor the fallen. 

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Journalists describe a rise of so-called “body hunters” — private funeral operators who race to battle sites, hospitals and morgues to secure the dead, sometimes by bribing police, ambulance crews or medical staff for early information. Those informants receive payments for tips; funeral firms then push overpriced services onto families or leverage contracts with local authorities. 

“We are looking for bodies,” a 16-year employee of Ukrainian deathcare leader Anubis told Le Mond. “In order to arrive first, we have informal agreements with the police, hospitals and morgues, who are the first to notify us of the death in exchange for financial compensation. It’s not corruption, it’s called buying information.”

Concentrated corruption

In addition to the competition to secure civilian burials, investigators have documented corruption tied to government procurement for military burials. In several regions, contracts for transporting bodies, coffins or headstones were awarded at inflated prices with suspected kickbacks to officials — a practice that turns state funerary support into another revenue stream for corrupt networks. The Wall Street Journal reported that one regional probe uncovered inflated tombstone contracts where the margin was split among contractors and officials. 

The economic incentives are stark. Rising casualties create demand for transport, storage, embalming, coffins and memorials; where oversight is weak, this demand becomes lucrative. Families already reeling from loss report feeling pressured to accept services and fees they cannot refuse, while honest funeral operators say they are squeezed out if they refuse to participate in kickback schemes. 

“If I don’t approve of these methods, my plate will be empty,” the deathcare veteran told Le Mond. “The funeral business is similar to prostitution, drug trafficking and gambling, but no one wants to talk about it openly.”

Ukrainian authorities have not been entirely blind to the problem. The Ministry for Community and Territorial Development drew up anti-corruption measures for the sector in 2022, and some local investigations have led to arrests. But reform efforts have struggled to keep pace with wartime chaos, overstretched institutions and political pressure — limiting their reach and effectiveness. And while starkly honest statements to international media, like those from the Anubis employee, draw attention to the problem, they do little to actually help the problem.