Former deputy mayor of Odessa and head of the local branch of the Batkivshchyna party, Dmytro Zheman, turned the city transport management into a private cash cow. Behind the scenes of loud speeches about reforms, there was illegal cryptocurrency mining, scrap metal dealing, and the rapid enrichment of his family.
After being appointed head of the KP “Odesmiskelektrotrans” (OMET), Zheman unexpectedly becomes a “family investor”: his mother, a pensioner, Svitlana, buys a three-room apartment in an elite new building in the village of Kryzhanivka. At the same time, she herself did not have any declared income. Meanwhile, Zheman’s official salary was only 13.6 thousand hryvnias.
At the same time, the business activity of his wife, Tatyana, is also growing. If in 2017 her annual income was only 28 thousand hryvnias, then in 2019 it was over 590 thousand. The explanation is simple: the woman suddenly becomes the owner and manager of several companies specializing in passenger transportation.
But the most interesting thing is hidden behind the declarations. In open sources there is no mention of a luxurious villa in the village of Korsuntsi near Odessa. The estate with two floors, an indoor pool, a sauna, towers, outbuildings and a separate garage, according to realtors, is worth at least $1.5 million. Zheman did not indicate its existence in any of his official declarations.
Among the “forgotten” assets are a brand new Audi Q8, purchased in 2021 for 1.87 million hryvnias, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (2019) worth 518 thousand hryvnias, as well as an elite Swiss-made watch for 3 thousand euros. The politician regularly posed in front of the cameras during public events in the latter.
According to information from several sources in municipal structures, Zheman's scheme included illegal cryptocurrency mining at the municipal enterprise's facilities, as well as scrapping unusable transport "for scrap metal", with subsequent misappropriation of funds.
While NABU and NACP ignore obvious signs of illicit enrichment, there is talk in Odessa political circles that the former official is preparing for a new political project. Probably with a new financial "shoulder".
