Former SAPO prosecutor reveals parties to deal with Kaufman over Odesa airport

The former SAPO prosecutor said that the deal between the investigation and Kaufman regarding the Odesa airport could have been beneficial to the businessman. He believes that its terms contradict the investigation materials.

This was reported by the Judicial and Legal Newspaper.

Stanislav Bronevytskyi, former prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), spoke about the peculiarities of the agreement between the head of the SAPO, Oleksandr Klymenko, and businessman Borys Kaufman in the case related to the Odesa airport. According to him, the terms of this agreement differ significantly from those contained in the pre-trial investigation materials and may preserve the control of Kaufman's private structures over the airport.

Bronevytskyi clarified that the prosecution's position was to return the airport property to the ownership of the Odesa City Council or to compensate for damages in cash. Instead, the agreement allows the city to get only an old terminal that is not suitable for use.

The former prosecutor added that according to the agreement, Kaufman was to compensate only 1 billion in damages, although the investigation estimated the total budget losses at about 2.5 billion hryvnias. He also stated that Klymenko had been insisting on signing the agreement since September 2023 and maintained informal contacts with the businessman's defense team.

In addition, Bronevytskyi said that NABU detective Andriy Braverman refused to sign the indictment on the basis of which the court approved the agreement, considering it unprofitable for the state.

According to his calculations, the net income of Odesa airport for the period 2012-2022 amounted to UAH 2.576 billion, which should have gone to the city budget. Currently, the content of the agreement is not publicly available, but Bronevytskyi said he was ready to publicly discuss all the circumstances of its signing with the head of the SAPO.

In June, the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement for seven people involved in a criminal group that controlled the work of the Odesa City Council and received profits from local entrepreneurs. Among them are former city hall officials who were accused of seizing property of Odesa International Airport worth over UAH 118 million in 2011.

In addition to businessmen Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych, the case included former Odesa mayor Oleksiy Kostusev, his former deputy Mykhailo Kuchuk, director of Odesa Airport Development LLC Oleksiy Kochanov, Konstantin Yefremov, a close associate of Kaufman, and co-owner of Clear City Petro Bahriy.

Анна Бальчінос