Ex-head of post office in Odesa region detained for misappropriation of budget funds

Police exposed the former head of a post office in Bolhrad district, Odesa region, for misappropriating budget funds and forging official documents.

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, the woman is suspected of misappropriating money allocated by the state to support low-income citizens.

Residents of the Bolhradsky district, who were waiting for a subsidy from the state and found out that they had received it only on paper, turned to the police for help. Having launched a pre-trial investigation, investigators found that the head of a local post office had received state financial assistance for housing and communal services and the purchase of heating oil and liquefied gas intended for low-income pensioners, which she did not pay to them. The woman forged citizens' signatures in official documents on the alleged receipt of money due to them, which she actually kept for herself. She reported to the management that she had paid the money and attached forged statements to support her claims.

The woman told pensioners who were waiting for state aid that the Pension Fund had not yet transferred the money to them. The deceived people began to call the state agency without waiting for the subsidies, and they were assured that the money had not only been transferred, but had already been received, and that the statements with their signatures were available.

During the pre-trial investigation, the police found that in this way, the offender seized budget funds totaling UAH 194.9 thousand, which were intended for 31 low-income pensioners, over a period of four months. She spent the money on her own needs.

If found guilty, the offender faces up to eight years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

Кирило Бойко