Businessman convicted in Odesa for legalizing illegal construction

An attempt to turn an unauthorized building into an official company asset resulted in a criminal sentence in Odesa. The court considered a scheme in which the illegally constructed real estate was not only registered but also contributed to the authorized capital of the company.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the decision of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa.

According to the case file, in early 2020, the man organized the construction of a 41.8-square-meter outbuilding on a land plot that was in the city's communal ownership. At the same time, he did not have the right to own, lease or permanently use the land, as well as the necessary permits for construction and commissioning of the facility.

Upon completion of the construction, the defendant submitted a package of documents with false information to the state registrar, including certificates of completion, a conclusion and a technical passport. Based on these documents, the ownership of the building was officially registered.

Later, as the court found, the building was illegally expanded: its area increased from 41.8 to 197.7 square meters. In addition to the increase in area, the status of the facility also changed: from an outbuilding, it became a non-residential structure. These changes were also made to the state register. A separate episode of the case concerned the legalization of the property.

According to the proceedings, in November 2020, the man transferred an illegally constructed non-residential building valued at one million hryvnias to the authorized capital of Captain Plus LLC. The company then registered the ownership of the real estate through the state registrar. The defendant himself received a share in the company's authorized capital and became one of the company's ultimate beneficiaries.

During the trial, the man fully admitted his guilt, confirmed the circumstances set out in the indictment and expressed remorse. For unauthorized construction, he was sentenced to one year of probationary supervision, and for legalization of property - three years in prison with a ban on engaging in business activities for a year. At the same time, the court imposed a one-year probationary period.

He will also pay over UAH 9.5 thousand for expert examination. In addition, the court ruled to cancel the seizure of a non-residential building with an area of 197.7 square meters, which was registered to Captain Plus LLC.

Also in Odesa, law enforcement officers are investigating the seizure of nature reserve land for the construction of a residential complex. According to the investigation, the developer unauthorizedly expanded the construction area and caused more than UAH 16 million in damages to the state.

Анна Бальчінос