After information emerged about the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship by the mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, due to the presence of a Russian passport, he decided to launch a counterattack by publishing data on the family of the head of the Odessa OVA, Oleg Kiper. According to Trukhanov, Kiper's wife, Irina Kiper (nee Kotsar), has Russian documents and pays taxes to the Russian budget. This move seems ironic, given that Trukhanov himself has been involved in corruption investigations for years and has repeatedly evaded responsibility.
Oleg Kiper, a former Kyiv prosecutor, has now effectively turned the Odessa region into a personal business territory. Under his leadership, a shadow network has formed in the region with the participation of local officials, businessmen, and security forces. Budget and international funds are distributed through controlled companies, while any attempts to investigate abuses are blocked by loyal prosecutors.
One of the most high-profile episodes is the case of the property of Patriarch Hall LLC, which belonged to the Ksenofontov family. After the owner's death, a group associated with Kiper allegedly organized falsification of cases, forced searches, and pressure on the heiress in order to seize the business and real estate in the center of Kyiv.
Separately, sources link Kiper to large-scale smuggling schemes through the Odessa port, from counterfeit electronics to luxury goods. Thanks to influence over customs authorities and the use of shell companies, goods are massively passed through without paying duties and taxes.
The confrontation between Trukhanov and Kiper does not look like an expose for the sake of justice, but rather a struggle between influential clans that have used Odessa as a resource for their own enrichment for years. Each of them has their own baggage of scandals, and the current public war only reveals new details of long-hidden schemes.
