Mykolaiv region appoints trial on embezzlement of funds during kovid

In Pervomaisk, the judge refused to return the indictment in the case of official negligence related to the use of budget funds in the fight against COVID-19. Instead, the case was scheduled for consideration, despite the defense's objections.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Pervomaisk City District Court of Mykolaiv Oblast.

This is a case that was opened in February 2022. According to the investigation, between April 2020 and December 2021, the Pervomaisk Central District Hospital unreasonably charged individual employees with COVID surcharges totaling more than UAH 1.7 million.

Of this amount, about UAH 728 thousand was paid to 70 employees in 2020, and more than UAH 974 thousand to 81 employees in 2021. The investigation believes that these losses were caused by the negligence of the hospital's chief accountant.

In its lawsuit, the Ministry of Health noted that in 2020, the state allocated funds for additional payments to doctors who worked with COVID-19 patients under a special budget program.

During the preliminary hearing, the defense insisted on returning the indictment to the prosecutor. The defense lawyer pointed to a number of violations, including the lack of proper involvement of the injured party, contradictions in the wording, and discrepancies in the amount of damages.

At the same time, the representative of the injured party, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, insisted that it was the state that had suffered the losses.

The judge concluded that the indictment was drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the law, and the defense's arguments actually concerned the evaluation of evidence. Such issues, the judge noted, should be considered during the main trial, not at the preparatory stage.

As a result, the court dismissed the defense's motion to return the indictment and set the case for trial. In addition, within the same proceedings, the court will consider a civil claim of the Ministry of Health for compensation for damages.

Also in Mykolaiv, the judge was removed from the case of the former head of the MSEC at the request of the prosecutor's office. The reason was doubts about the observance of procedural rules during the hearings.

Анна Бальчінос