Employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have completed a long-term investigation into the seizure of Odesa airport property. According to the results of the research, it was established that part of the airport property was purchased for 118 million hryvnias, and after that the persons involved in the scheme received illegal profits for 10 years, from 2012 to 2022, in the amount of 2.5 billion hryvnias.
The investigation continued for several years, during which all suspicions were revised. This was reported by the NABU press service.
According to information, the case began in 2011, when two businessmen from Odesa set up a scheme to take over the property of the airport, which at that time was undergoing reconstruction before the Euro-2012 championship. As part of this scheme, they seized the old terminal and 2,488 units of airport property, and also received 75% of the rights to the international airport "Odesa" and the premises of the new terminal.
Over the following years, these individuals received illegal income from the use of these assets. During 10 years, the amount of illegal enrichment reached more than 2.5 billion hryvnias. We will remind that in August 2023 NABU and SAP announced the suspicion of five persons in this case.
This corruption case arose during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, when Ukraine was actively preparing for Euro-2012. Huge funds were directed to the modernization and reconstruction of the infrastructure, and Odesa was no exception.
It is obvious that it was impossible to implement such an ambitious plan without the appropriate influence of the authorities. The city deputies of Odesa at that time gave their consent to the creation of the company, which, it was stated, was supposed to invest in the development of the airport. The result was that the criminal group effectively gained control of the airfield.
The NABU press service emphasized in August 2023 that the transfer of airport property for joint use was not considered privatization due to its national importance in ensuring border and customs control. More than 535 units of fixed assets out of 2,488 transferred by airport facilities, which guaranteed flight safety, were not subject to alienation in principle.
In addition, according to the agreement, the "investors" were to contribute authorized capital in the amount of 355 million hryvnias, build a new terminal and runway. However, due to the actions of the scheme participants, most of these funds were blocked by the bank as collateral and could not be used. The new terminal was built on a loan secured by the property complex of the airport, and the construction of the runway was not started at all.
Odesa businessmen, the former mayor of Odesa (presumably Oleksiy Kostusev, who is currently wanted), his deputy and the director of the fictitious enterprise were informed of the suspicion of organizing this scheme.
