The Odesa regional prosecutor's office has submitted an indictment to the court against a lawyer and two members of a criminal group, who, under the leadership of a city council member, illegally seized real estate in the center of Odesa valued at over 11 million hryvnias.

They are charged with fraudulent acquisition of communal property, legalization of illegal proceeds, document forgery, unlawful land occupation, and illegal construction (Part 3 of Article 28, Parts 3, 4 of Article 358, Part 4 of Article 190, Part 3 of Article 197-1, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation revealed that the council member, who was part of the Odesa city council's property committee, devised a scheme for illegal enrichment by registering ownership rights to real estate belonging to local communities.

He enlisted the help of a lawyer and trusted associates to execute his plan.

The accomplices searched for municipal premises on the first and second floors in the center of Odesa, rented them through controlled organizations, and then purchased them in a non-competitive manner.

Afterward, they expanded the area of the acquired premises by including attics and basements and registered ownership rights in the names of front persons based on falsified documentation.

Some of the unlawfully acquired non-residential premises were converted into residential apartments and sold to unsuspecting buyers.

In this way, the members of the organized group seized three real estate properties in central Odesa and a land plot in the Peresyp district, causing over 11 million UAH in damages to the local community.

The accused were exposed in May of this year and were detained with the possibility of bail.

As part of the criminal proceedings, the prosecutor's office filed a civil lawsuit to recover damages.

Materials related to the organizing council member have been separated into a separate proceeding, and he has been placed on an international wanted list.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in the Odesa region, with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine in Odesa.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.