During the war, money was paid to "dead souls": a scheme at an educational institution was exposed in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, law enforcement exposed an alleged scheme to embezzle budget funds at a state-owned educational institution. According to the police, the head of one of the city’s educational institutions employed acquaintances who in fact did not work but received salaries from the budget. The total amount of losses, according to the investigation, amounted to nearly 800 thousand hryvnias.

This was reported on 8 June 2026 by the police communications department in the Mykolaiv region.

According to the pre-trial investigation, the scheme operated from September 2022 to August 2025. Law enforcement considers the organizer to be a 43-year-old head of an educational institution that belongs to the sphere of management of the Department of Education and Science of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration.

According to the investigation, the official, using his position during martial law, hired three acquaintances at the institution. Formally they were employees of the institution; however, as law enforcement claims, they did not show up at workplaces and did not actually provide any educational services.

At the same time, each month they were paid salaries from the state budget. Later these funds, according to the police, were transferred to bank accounts opened in the name of the head of the institution and his relatives. The suspect himself, law enforcement notes, disposed of these funds at his own discretion.

During sanctioned searches at the official’s workplace and place of residence, police seized documents, a mobile phone and other material evidence which, in the opinion of investigators, may corroborate criminal activity.

4 June 2026 investigators notified all four suspects of suspicion. The head of the educational institution is charged under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — appropriation and embezzlement of another’s property by abusing official position, committed under martial law.

Three of his acquaintances were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — assisting in the appropriation of another’s property by an official through abuse of office, also committed under martial law.

Under this article, the suspects face up to 8 years of imprisonment with additional disqualification from holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to 3 years.

Currently, the issue of imposing preventive measures on the suspects is being decided. Investigators have also filed a petition with the court to suspend the head of the institution from his position.

Law enforcement is checking whether other persons may be involved in this scheme. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. It is being carried out by investigators of the Investigative Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region, operational support is provided by the Department for Strategic Investigations (DSR) of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region, procedural supervision — the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

At the same time, pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.