The Khadzhibey District Court of Odesa found Svitlana Salamatnikova, a native of Kakhovka, guilty of cooperating with the illegal “Tax Service of Kherson Oblast” that the Russians created during the occupation of Kherson.
This was reported by “IRS South”.
Before the full-scale invasion the woman worked as the chief state auditor-inspector at the Main Department of the State Tax Service of Kherson Oblast. After the occupation in June 2022 she voluntarily took the position of “head of the chief accountant’s department”.
The investigation established that Salamatnikova performed organizational and administrative functions, was responsible for financial support and the calculation of salaries for employees of the occupation’s tax service under Russian legislation. Her activities were confirmed by witnesses, documents seized during searches, and a signature examination.
The court found Salamatnikova guilty under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – state treason. She was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property and a ban on holding positions in government bodies for three years.
Earlier a sentence was handed down to the occupation’s former Minister of Education of Kherson Oblast, Mykhailo Rodikov, for encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and for justifying the occupation. This is not his first sentence; the man was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with confiscation of property.