Kherson exposes scheme of misappropriation of funds in city hospital

Kherson is investigating possible misappropriation of funds at the Karabelesh City Hospital. The investigation found that contracts with contractors could have been signed on behalf of the director, who was not present at the time.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Kherson City Court.

The investigator filed a request with the court for access to documents in the framework of criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code - misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of office. This article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.

According to the investigation, on August 1, 2025, the Kherson District Police Department received a report from a hospital employee who, during an inspection, found possible signs of a crime in the actions of officials of the Kherson City Clinical Hospital named after E. E. Karabelesh, a municipal non-profit enterprise. The violations could have occurred when concluding contracts with entrepreneurs between June and December 2022.

The complainant testified that when analyzing the hospital's financial indicators, she found discrepancies between official reporting and actual receipts and expenditures for 2020-2024. In addition, it turned out that the hospital's CEO was abroad at the time of signing most of the contracts.

After a request to the Police Information and Analytical Support Department, the police received confirmation that the director had indeed left Ukraine and returned only on December 29, 2022. Therefore, she was absent from the country from at least November 11 to December 29, so she could not sign the contracts herself.

Investigators found that the documents were signed on behalf of the director, and the hospital transferred funds for the goods and services received. In order to verify the authenticity of the signatures, a handwriting examination was required, so the investigator requested temporary access to the original contracts and financial documents.

The court concluded that the request was justified: it was impossible to obtain the necessary documents in any other way, and they were essential for establishing the truth in the case. Therefore, it was decided to grant the investigators permission to temporarily access and seize the original contracts, certificates of completion, payment orders, financial statements and other hospital documents for 2022-2023. In case of refusal to provide the documents, the court may authorize a search to seize them.

Also in Kherson, the embezzlement of funds from the Department of Civil Protection was exposed: money intended for the purchase of goods for the needs of the department and the defense work of the Kherson Regional State Administration was transferred to commercial companies, but the services were not provided.

Анна Бальчінос