In Odessa, an accountant embezzled company funds for years and fled to Germany

The chief accountant of an Odessa-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. 

This was reported by Intent, citing a ruling by the Khadzhibey District Court of Odessa. 

A court in Odessa has concluded the case of a former chief accountant at a private company who was accused of systematically embezzling her employer’s funds by manipulating payroll records. The Khadzhibey District Court of Odessa handed down its verdict on June 15.

As established by the court, the woman worked as the chief accountant at “Zherom-Auto” LLC and had full access to the BAS accounting system, the company director’s electronic signature, and the banking service used to process payments. According to the investigation, she used these very powers to carry out a scheme to illegally embezzle funds for her own benefit.

According to the company’s staffing table, her official salary ranged from 3,723 to 6,000 hryvnias, depending on the period of employment. However, in the accounting software, she generated documents in which her salary amounts rose to 50,000, 130,000, 350,000, and even over half a million hryvnias. Payment orders were then generated, on the basis of which the funds were transferred through the banking system. The scheme had been in operation since at least July 2018.

Virtually every month, the accountant made changes to the electronic documents, inflating the amount of her own payments. The court detailed dozens of instances in which the company suffered losses amounting to tens of thousands of hryvnias at a time.

Law enforcement officials noted that the woman already had a criminal record. In 2019, she was convicted of embezzlement and unauthorized access to information in automated systems; however, she received a suspended sentence at that time. 

To carry out the scheme, she used both a work computer at the company’s premises and remote access to accounting software via the internet. This allowed her to conduct financial transactions even outside the office.

The judge sentenced her to seven years in prison; however, due to her prior conviction, he partially combined the unserved portion of that sentence and ultimately sentenced her to nine years in prison. In addition, she was placed on an international wanted list. At the time of the trial, the woman was in Germany.

Also, in Odesa, a company executive is set to stand trial on suspicion of embezzling funds intended for workers’ salaries. Investigators determined that in January 2023, the company’s director went to a bank branch and withdrew cash from the company’s account. 

Анна Бальчінос