In Kharkiv, large -scale corruption schemes of illegal seizure of real estate, to which lawyers, officials and state registrars are involved. According to the journalists of the Potkor project, the key figures in these schemes are Kharkiv lawyer Valentin Melnyk and the official of the Ministry of Justice Dmitry Volik.
The essence of fraud - in falsification of documents and conspiracy with "black registrars". With the help of counterfeit technical passports, fictitious court decisions and official loyalty, the property goes into someone else's hands in a few days. Not only individuals or businesses, but also state structures: SBU buildings, police and prosecutors, become victims.
One of the most striking examples was the building on the Kharkiv highway. In 2024, dozens of apartments were illegally registered there - all through falsified documents. The registration was without inspections, and the city property - without a fight it was in the hands of raiders.
Valentin Melnyk, who positions himself as a successful lawyer, recently got into another scandal - used the artificially generated face of Vladimir Zelensky (dippheik) in the advertising of his law firm. Such a step caused indignation and became evidence of neglect of ethical and legal norms.
His accomplice, the Ministry of Justice official Dmitry Volyk, who should stand on the guard of registers, instead coordinated the actions of the controlled registrars. They made a decision in favor of fictitious owners, clearing the traces of the real owner.
Despite the open criminal proceedings, there is still no sentence in cases. The court hearings are systematically postponed, judges change, and key persons involved are avoiding responsibilities.
The StopCor investigation exposes not only a specific scheme, but also a systemic problem: the vulnerability of the State Register and the indifference of the law enforcement and judicial system to the raiding. Ukrainians lose property not through the enemy from the outside, but through the union of evil within the country - lawyers, officials and corrupt registrars.
Journalists call the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor's Office and law enforcement agencies to immediately respond to corruption and start public cleaning in the state registration system. After all, while the property can be "rewrite" in a few days, the law in Ukraine exists only on paper.
