In the Odesa region, a court dismissed the case against a former school official regarding a “ghost student”

In the Odesa region, Viktoria Zabolotnia, a former deputy school principal, was cleared of criminal charges. For years, she had been paying a salary to her father, who did not actually work at the school.

The Center for Public Investigations uncovered the details of the case.

According to a ruling by the Southern City Court, in October 2018, Zabolotnia—who at the time served as deputy director for administrative affairs at the M.P. Guzik Author’s School—arranged for her father to be fictitiously hired as a janitor. The man, who lived in the village of Pishchanka in the Vinnytsia region, was unaware of his employment and did not actually work at the school.

At the same time, from October 19, 2018, to April 15, 2021, his timesheets regularly indicated that he was working at the school. Based on these documents, he was paid a salary, and the money was transferred to his bank account. According to the investigation, Zabolotnia managed the funds.

The total amount of losses to the budget of the Pivdennivska City Territorial Community amounted to over 122,000 hryvnias. 

The defense attorney asked the court to exempt Zabolotnia from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The prosecutor and the representative of the injured party did not object.

The court determined that the most recent alleged offenses took place on April 15, 2021. Since these were minor criminal offenses, the five-year statute of limitations provided for by law expired on April 15, 2026. Furthermore, the court did not find that the woman had evaded investigation or trial or had committed a new crime.

As a result, the case was dismissed, and Zabolotnia was acquitted of criminal liability. At the same time, the court did not exonerate her—the basis for this decision was specifically the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Also, in early August, the head of the Education Department of the Chornomorsk City Council was exposed for embezzling budget funds during martial law.

Анна Бальчінос