(Yuriy Nikitinsky. PHOTO COLLAGE: Intent/AI)
In Odesa region, a court closed a case against one of the participants in a scheme to embezzle budget funds organized by a local council member. According to the investigation, he involved people as fictitious recipients of social benefits and controlled the distribution of illegally obtained money.
This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.
According to the case file, the organizer of the scheme was a deputy of the Velykodolynsk Village Council of the VI convocation, who later became a deputy of the Ovidiopol District Council of the VII convocation. It was he who developed the mechanism of misappropriation of budget funds and coordinated the actions of the participants. This is Yuriy Nikitinsky, who held the position of deputy at both levels.
Law enforcement officers found that the organized group, which included officials of the social security department, issued social assistance to citizens without legal grounds. For this purpose, they used the documents of people who agreed to formally act as recipients of payments.
The defendant was one of them, who provided his data and agreed to give a part of the received funds. Subsequently, the officials entered false information into the system, which allowed them to make payments without any grounds.
In particular, an employee of the department provided fictitious data, and the head of the structure approved the accruals. As a result, over several years, the fictitious recipient received over UAH 73 thousand. After receiving the money, part of it was transferred to the organizer. In this way, he controlled financial flows and distributed profits among the scheme participants.
Law enforcement officers classified the defendant's actions as aiding and abetting in the misappropriation of property. However, during the trial, the defense filed a motion to be released from liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The defendant agreed, and the prosecutor did not object.
The judge concluded that the crime was a minor one, and the statute of limitations had expired in 2021. As a result, the defendant was released from liability and the proceedings were closed. At the same time, the materials on the alleged organizer and other participants in the case were separated into separate proceedings.
Also in Odesa, law enforcement officers uncovered a scheme to misappropriate funds from a state-owned bank, which, according to the investigation, involved an employee of Oschadbank. Using access to IDP accounts, she and her accomplices withdrew money and transferred it to controlled accounts.
Анна Бальчінос