In the Kherson region, bail was set for three officials in the "dead souls" case

A court has ordered the detention of three individuals implicated in a case involving the alleged fictitious employment of people in the Novovorontsov community in the Kherson region. According to investigators, these “ghost employees” received salaries and were exempt from mobilization, even though they did not actually work.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

According to the case file, the individuals in question are Andriy Seletskyi, former head of the Novovorontsov Town Military Administration; Serhii Pylypenko, director of the municipal enterprise “Kommunservice”; and Serhii Shevchenko, head of the municipal enterprise “Dnipro.”

All three were charged with misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of official position under martial law, as well as obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The court ruled to remand the suspects in custody through October 23, 2026, inclusive. At the same time, bail amounts were set for each of them.

For Seletskyi, the bail amount was 499,200 hryvnias; for Pylypenko, 166,400 hryvnias; and for Shevchenko, 266,240 hryvnias.

Following the court hearings, all three defendants were remanded in custody. However, bail for Seletsky has already been posted. In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed him from his post.

According to the investigation, the “dead souls” scheme was operating in the Novovorontsov community. Investigators believe that while Seletsky headed the town’s military administration and served as acting town mayor, he instructed his subordinates to hire individuals he had selected.

According to the investigation, these employees did not actually perform their job duties and were located outside the Kherson region; however, they were officially listed as employees, received salaries, and were exempt from mobilization.

Law enforcement officials claim that a similar practice was also used in the community’s municipal enterprises. Other employees of the town council may have been involved in hiring these workers.

According to court documents, the community’s leadership allegedly knew that some of the employees on the payroll did not show up for work. At the same time, they continued to receive salaries and benefit from exemptions from mobilization.

If found guilty, the defendants face five to eight years in prison.

As reported by Intent, in August, a forewoman at the production site of the municipal enterprise “ZhKS ‘Porto-Frankivskyi’” pleaded guilty in a case involving the fictitious employment of dozens of people and testified against other participants in the scheme.

Анна Літман