In Kherson, a former accountant has been accused of embezzling 10 million from the National Health Service of Ukraine

According to investigators, more than 10 million hryvnias that the government allocated to pay for medical services were misappropriated. In the Kherson region, the case of a former accountant at a private medical company, who is accused of embezzling public funds, has been referred to court.

This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

According to the investigation, between 2022 and 2023, the former accountant of the company, which operated in the field of medical services, organized a scheme to misappropriate funds that the National Health Service of Ukraine had transferred to the private medical company as part of the Medical Guarantees Program.

Investigators established that the accused provided accounting services to an individual entrepreneur and, based on a power of attorney, had full control over the flow of funds, their withdrawal, and subsequent use.

<picture></picture>ILLUSTRATION: kherson.gp.gov.ua

During martial law, the government introduced a simplified mechanism for financing medical facilities: payments from the National Health Service of Ukraine (NSZU) were made monthly under previously concluded contracts without verification of the actual volume of services provided. According to the investigation, the defendant took advantage of this mechanism and failed to inform the National Health Service of Ukraine (NSZU) that some of the doctors registered with the sole proprietorship were not actually practicing medicine.

As a result, the company’s account received over 16.5 million hryvnias in budget funds. Of this amount, according to law enforcement officials, over 10 million hryvnias were embezzled in collusion with other individuals and used at her own discretion.

Additionally, the chief accountant of the Odesa-based company was found guilty of embezzling company funds by manipulating payroll records. Over the course of several years, she transferred tens of thousands of hryvnias to herself. 

Анна Бальчінос