You're reading: Canadian-Ukrainian returns money to charity

 A former treasurer of a Kyiv charity has returned most of the money he withheld for more than a year and a half from a group that had earmarked the funds for purchase of much-needed prenatal equipment for area hospitals.

 On July 15, Vesuvio Pizzeria owner Myron
Spolsky of Canada turned over $44,000 to members of the Kyiv Multinational Rotary
Club, confirmed Jesper Lindholt, the group’s president.

 Spolsky, 59, was still $5,000 short, said
Lindholt.

 “He’s almost there to paying us back, we’re
happy,” Lindholt told the Kyiv Post.

 Spolsky would not comment, telling the Kyiv
Post that a formal statement by the Rotary Club is forthcoming.

On May 10, Spolsky had signed a letter in
which he promised to give the group $56,000 that he owed them by May 16. The
figure was based on a financial report of the group’s activities when he was
treasurer from July 2009 until June 2011. He also gave the charity his Canadian
passport as a security deposit.

His passport expired on July 16, the day
after he made the payment. Lindholt said only $5,000 is outstanding because of
revised financial figures that Spolsky provided the group.

There are 43 Rotary Clubs in Ukraine and
some 40,000 clubs worldwide.

 

Kyiv
Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].