IDPs' money stolen from a bank in Odesa exposed

In Odesa, law enforcement officers uncovered a scheme of embezzlement of state-owned bank funds, which, according to the investigation, involved an employee of Oschadbank. Using her official access to the accounts of clients from the temporarily occupied territories, she and her accomplices withdrew money and transferred it to controlled accounts.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

In the course of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers found that employees of JSC Oschadbank organized a scheme to misappropriate funds using access to internal systems.

The key figure in the scheme, according to the investigation, was the chief economist of the sector of the Odesa Regional Branch. Investigators found out that the official illegally processed information about customers, their bank cards and Internet banking accounts. She transferred the data to other participants in the scheme, who transferred funds to other accounts and settled payments in retail chains on behalf of the owners.

As a result, the funds of customers who were in the occupied territories and could not control their accounts were withdrawn and misappropriated. Part of the money was transferred to the accounts of the suspect and related parties to the crime.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers searched the bank employee's apartment and seized an iPhone 11 cell phone with a SIM card and cash: USD 58,000 in a metal box and over USD 17,000 and EUR 15 in envelopes.

The defense tried to explain the origin of some of the funds, but not all arguments were supported by documents. In particular, the allegations that some of the money belonged to the suspect's relatives were not confirmed.

The investigating judge, having analyzed the materials, concluded that it was necessary to seize part of the seized funds due to the lack of evidence of their legal origin. At the same time, the court recognized the $58,000 seized separately as belonging to other persons and having a confirmed origin, so it refused to arrest this part.

Also in Odesa, the court imposed a pre-trial restraint on a railroad official suspected of embezzlement of budget funds and forgery. According to the investigation, he had been paying salaries for years to an employee who did not actually show up for work.

Анна Бальчінос