Ukrposhta personnel officer in Mykolaiv region received salary for "dead souls"

A human resources inspector in Mykolaiv region organized a scheme worth hundreds of thousands of hryvnias at Ukrposhta. She withdrew the money through fictitious employment, and now she faces up to 12 years in prison.

This is stated in the ruling of the Voznesensk City District Court of Mykolaiv region.

The woman, suspected of large-scale embezzlement of state-owned enterprise funds, had been wanted for more than four years. She is accused of embezzling more than UAH 838 thousand through a scheme of fictitious employment of 83 people at the Voznesensk Postal Center No. 2 of the Mykolaiv Directorate of Ukrposhta.

According to the investigation, from 2013 to 2015, the HR inspector hired non-existent employees - mostly relatives, acquaintances or unemployed people who did not actually perform any duties.

She also prepared fake orders for hiring and dismissal, and then personally received the salaries of the so-called employees at the company's cash desk.

In 2016, the Voznesensk Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings, but on April 1 of the same year, the suspect fled to the temporarily occupied Crimea to avoid responsibility. In 2020, she was put on the international wanted list, and later the court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention.

Currently, law enforcement officers are conducting an investigation, and the former official is charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - misappropriation of property in a particularly large scale. The suspect faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

In February, the head and accountant of the fire service in Mykolaiv region were exposed for misappropriating budget funds through fictitious charges. The officials entered false data on bonuses and salaries of fictitious employees and transferred the money to their own bank accounts. According to the prosecutor's office, the amount of damage to the community exceeds UAH 300 thousand.

In addition, investigators are establishing a possible scheme of fraud in the medical sector. It involves the systematic introduction of false data into medical records in municipal institutions, which allowed them to receive funds from the budget for the treatment of fictitious patients.

Анна Бальчінос