The HACC found Viktoriia Poltavchenko, acting director of one of the state enterprises of an Institute of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, guilty of misappropriating UAH 16 million on the supply of an organic additive and its purported application to the state enterprise's fields.

As acting director of the State Enterprise Elitne Research Farm, Poltavchenko had the authority to organize procurement and to manage the enterprise's funds. She devised and carried out a plan to misappropriate the enterprise's funds on a particularly large scale by conducting a fictitious procurement of goods and materials.

To this end, she initiated a fictitious contract with Tryvko Biofertilizer Plant LLC for the supply of an organic additive for agricultural production needs. In reality, there was never any intention to deliver the goods. To cover up the deal, Poltavchenko arranged for the preparation and signing of a complete package of documents — from specifications to accounting records.

Poltavchenko carried out the scheme in collusion with representatives of Tryvko Biofertilizer Plant LLC, the head of a separate subdivision of the State Enterprise Elitne Research Farm, and other persons not identified by the investigation, all of whom were aware of the fictitious nature of the transaction and nonetheless helped to formalize it.

Once the appearance of a need for the procurement had been created, the accounting department of the State Enterprise Elitne paid the invoices issued. The enterprise's accountants had no inkling of the scheme, and so transferred the funds to the Tryvko plant for goods that were never actually supplied.

The UAH 16 million thus obtained was then withdrawn from the enterprise's accounts and distributed among the participants in the criminal scheme, exactly as they had agreed from the outset.

To conceal the fictitious nature of the agreement and the fact that no goods had actually been supplied, Poltavchenko arranged for the drawing up of records documenting the use of the organic additive on the enterprise's land plots, along with other reporting documentation — all containing knowingly false information. In this way, she created documentary confirmation of the contract's supposedly genuine performance and of the lawfulness of the expenditure.

The defendant's actions were classified under Article 366(1) and Article 191(4) and (5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. She herself, however, is evading the investigation.

The defense insisted that trying the case without the defendant's participation was impermissible where a sentence of imprisonment might be imposed. Another defense counsel reported that he had spoken with the defendant the day before — she allegedly admits her guilt, sincerely repents, and asks for the most lenient punishment available within the statutory range.

The HACC found Poltavchenko guilty. The verdict was delivered in absentia, since the accused is wanted by law enforcement. The court sentenced her to nine years' imprisonment, with a three-year ban on holding certain positions and confiscation of all her property. As of the delivery of the verdict, the whereabouts of the accused were unknown.