Kherson company's accountant suspected of misappropriating millions on medical services

Law enforcement officers in Kherson region have served a notice of suspicion to a 43-year-old accountant of a private medical company who is accused of embezzling more than UAH 10 million in budget funds. According to the investigation, the woman took advantage of the special procedure for financing the medical sector during martial law to organize a large-scale enrichment scheme.

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

According to the investigation, the suspect provided accounting support to a local enterprise and a sole proprietorship that had agreements with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU). Thanks to the power of attorney, she fully controlled the movement of funds on the accounts. Taking advantage of the fact that the Cabinet of Ministers had introduced a simplified payment procedure without the need for monthly confirmation of the volume of services, the accountant concealed the fact that there was no medical practice in the then-occupied Kherson.

During 2022-2023, the suspect submitted false information to the NHSU about the availability of medical staff and the provision of services to the population. In total, the organization received over UAH 16.5 million in budget funds. The investigation alleges that the woman, acting in collusion with others, misappropriated and used more than UAH 10 million of this amount for her own needs.

Currently, the defendant is charged with misappropriation of property on a large scale (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The article provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the Kherson Region Prosecutor's Office.

Law enforcement officers also exposed a scheme to embezzle budget funds during the reconstruction of a polyclinic in Bereznehuvate, Mykolaiv region. According to the investigation, the former director of the contractor misappropriated almost UAH 5 million.

According to the pre-trial investigation, in 2019, the Bereznehuvata Central District Hospital and Juventa Group Ukraine LLC signed a contract for the reconstruction of the polyclinic worth more than UAH 15.5 million. The contractor received an advance payment of almost UAH 4 million for the purchase of materials.

Катерина Глушко