An Odessa official was caught in a scheme involving therapeutic mud at a health resort in the Kherson region

Dmytro Antipov, the former director of a health resort in Kherson and an official in Odesa, is suspected of illegally extracting therapeutic mud from a nature reserve. However, the court denied the request to freeze his assets. 

The Center for Public Investigations has uncovered the details of the case.

According to the investigation, in March 2019, Antipov became the head of the state-owned enterprise “Gopri Sanatorium” and remained director until March 2022. The enterprise had a permit to use subsoil resources, but additional documents and established limits were required to operate within the nature reserve.

Lake Soliane has been used for therapeutic purposes since the 19th century. In 2016, 120 hectares of its territory were designated as a hydrological reserve of national significance.

Environmentalists documented violations at the company in 2019 and 2020. In January 2021, the Kherson District Administrative Court banned extraction until the necessary documents were obtained.

Investigators claim that despite this, from the fourth quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2021, workers manually scooped up mud and brine from a boat. In total, according to the case file, 41.4 cubic meters of therapeutic mud and 1,307.2 cubic meters of brine were extracted.

Experts estimated the environmental damage at 1.405 million hryvnias. In the criminal proceedings, the total amount of damages is 6.042 million hryvnias.

On June 10, 2026, Antipov was notified that he was suspected of illegally extracting mineral resources on the territory of a nature reserve and of abuse of office.

Investigators also requested that his property be seized—one-third of an apartment, a 2011 Toyota Highlander, and a 2008 Toyota Camry. However, the court denied the request. The reason was that no civil claim for damages had been filed in the case, so the court did not see the need to seize the property.

As reported byIntent, in March 2022, the then-head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Maksym Marchenko, appointed Antipov as head of the humanitarian headquarters. From 2012 to 2019, he served as director of the “Lermontovsky” sanatorium. At that time, the facility belonged to “Ukrprofzdravnitsa.”

In 2019, a dispute arose over the facility due to its transfer to the Ministry of Defense and subsequent reorganization. The parties argued, in particular, over the sanatorium’s movable property, which was valued at over 77 million hryvnias.

Анна Бальчінос