A million disappeared, but no guilty: court closes case of Mykolaiv region official

The former head of the education department of the Kryvoozery District State Administration was released from liability for embezzling almost a million hryvnias of budget funds. The court closed the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, although it recognized the fact of embezzlement.

This was reported by Anti-Corruption Dimension with reference to the court ruling.

An official from Mykolaiv region escaped punishment in the case of embezzlement of almost a million hryvnias of budget funds. The Vradiyivka District Court decided to close the criminal proceedings because the statutory period for bringing to justice had expired since the alleged offense.

The case involves Valentyna Holynska, the former head of the Education Department of the Kryvoozersky District State Administration. The investigation found that in 2018 she approved fictitious certificates of completion for the reconstruction of the roof of a school in the village of Kryve Ozero. The documents indicated construction work and materials used that were not actually performed or supplied. This was also evidenced by the conclusions of technical supervision.

Nevertheless, the official certified the acts with her signature and the seal of the Education Department, which effectively gave the green light to transfer funds to the contractor, Olkris LLC. The total amount that was illegally transferred from the budget amounted to UAH 988,726.

The investigation charged Golynska with forgery in office and embezzlement of public funds through abuse of office. However, in June 2025, the defendant appealed to the court to release her from liability, claiming that the time limit for bringing her to criminal responsibility had expired. The court granted the request.

The court also recently ruled to release from criminal liability the former director of Blahoustriy-NK LLC, who was suspected of misappropriating budget funds during the overhaul of Mykhailo Aleksandrov Park. The reason for this decision was also the expiration of the statute of limitations for prosecution. The investigation found that the contractor had overstated the amount of work performed in the reporting documentation, which unreasonably increased the total cost of the project by more than UAH 200 thousand.

Анна Бальчінос