In the Mykolaiv region, forestry officials paid a salary to a "ghost employee"

Two officials from the Bashtanka Forest District in the Mykolaiv region are suspected of falsely employing a man and paying him a salary for work he did not actually perform. According to the investigation, the state-owned enterprise suffered losses of nearly 48,000 hryvnias.

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

According to the investigation, in August 2025, the Bashtanka Forest District, a branch of the “Southern Forest Office” of the state-owned enterprise“Forests of Ukraine,” a man residing in the Beryslav District of the Kherson region was hired as a tractor operator. However, he never actually began working.

His immediate supervisor—a 54-year-old female forester at one of the forest districts—entered false information into the time sheets regarding the hours the man allegedly worked. Based on these documents, his salary was paid from the state-owned enterprise’s funds.

The money was deposited into the forester’s own bank card and then transferred to other individuals.

The other suspect is the 43-year-old head of the Bashtanka Forest District. According to investigators, he knew that the man was not actually working, yet he signed the documents on the basis of which the man continued to be paid his salary.

As a result of these actions, between August and October 2025, the state-owned enterprise suffered losses of nearly 48,000 hryvnias.

Both officials have been notified that they are suspected of official forgery and embezzlement through abuse of official position (Part 1 of Article 366 and Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pretrial investigation is being conducted by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kherson region.

Андрій Колісніченко