A female official at the Kherson Pension Fund was sentenced to 8 years in prison

A former employee of the Kherson Social Benefits Center defected to the occupiers and rose to become the head of one of the departments of the occupying "Kherson Region Pension Fund." For her collaboration, the court sentenced her to eight years in prison.

This is stated in the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

The woman began working at the occupying “Pension Fund” in July 2022. Initially, she was a clerk, and by September she had become the head of the department serving military personnel and certain other categories of citizens, including representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and judges.

The court found that the woman voluntarily accepted a position in an illegal body of the occupying authorities. No evidence was found that she was forced to work for the occupiers.

The woman’s guilt was confirmed by the testimony of former colleagues who worked with her at the center for calculating and disbursing social benefits.

According to them, in the summer of 2022, she stated that she was working for the occupation-era “Pension Fund.” The witnesses also identified her from photographs.

In addition, investigators searched the premises of the regional Pension Fund’s Main Office and discovered documents from the occupation period. Among them were:

• a timesheet for September 2022, which lists her position as “departmenthead ” and includes handwritten text and a signature;
• a telephone directory of the Pension Fund, which lists her position as head of department.

The court also found no evidence that the woman acted under duress or threats. In the court’s opinion, her actions were voluntary and deliberate.

The case was heard in absentia, as the defendant did not appear in court and evaded the pretrial investigation authorities.

In addition to an eight-year prison sentence, the court barred her for 12 years from holding positions in state authorities, local government bodies, and state-owned and municipal enterprises that provide public services. Her property is also subject to confiscation.

Ірина Глухова