Head of Beryslav District Council suspected of fake volunteering

The "Shlyakh" system, created for volunteers, could have become a tool for the head of the Beryslav District Council to travel abroad under the guise of a humanitarian mission. The case involves charitable foundations, a forged letter, and a trip to Poland, which, according to the investigation, did not result in any assistance to the military.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the prosecution, in December 2022, the head of the district administration of Kherson region transferred his personal data to an unidentified person - full personal information, passport series and number. This was done in order to include him in the Shlyakh information and communication system as a volunteer driver who was supposed to go abroad to import humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

After that, an email was sent on behalf of the director of the charitable organization with a request to add the official to the Shlyakh system and facilitate his travel abroad as a volunteer. Based on this letter, on December 5, 2022, a corresponding appeal was sent to the authorized bodies, which issued an order to allow the official to travel.

According to the order, the official was granted the right to travel outside Ukraine between December 10, 2022 and January 8, 2023 to import humanitarian aid for the military. Already on December 11, 2022, he crossed the state border and left for the Republic of Poland. In January 2023, the official returned to Ukraine, but did not import any humanitarian aid issued under martial law.

Two charitable organizations, the Charitable Foundation "Our Heroes" and the Charitable Foundation "Ajalyk", which were previously reported by Intent, are involved in criminal proceedings on possible abuse of office during martial law. The investigation believes that such actions may indicate intentional embezzlement.

During the investigation, the director of the charitable organization on whose behalf the letter was allegedly sent was interrogated. He stated that his organization had not sent any requests to add this person to the Shlyakh system, and he did not know the official himself.

To verify the circumstances, the investigation initiated access to electronic mailboxes. These mailboxes may contain electronic documents, correspondence, attachments and other digital data for the period 2022-2025 that are relevant to the criminal proceedings. In particular, these materials can confirm or deny the fact of receiving a letter of inclusion in the Shlyakh system, as well as help establish the circumstances of the offense.

In addition, investigators check the data on the performance of official duties, salary calculation and the actual stay of the official abroad during the period when he or she was supposed to be at the workplace.

According to the website of the Beryslav District Council, its chairman is Dmytro Slyvchenko.

The court partially granted the investigation's request, allowing access to e-mail accounts with the right to view, copy and seize evidence. Officials were obliged to provide access, otherwise a search is possible.

In January, in Mykolaiv, a court allowed the director of a charitable foundation and a former deputy from Odesa region, who is suspected of organizing the illegal departure of conscripts from Kherson region abroad, to be taken into custody.

Анна Бальчінос