High Anti-Corruption Court Approves Plea Deals in Odesa Airport Case

Judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine Serhiy Moisak has started a preparatory hearing to approve the plea agreement with the defendants Borys Kaufan, Oleksa Borukhovych (formerly Oleksandr Granovsky) and other defendants.

At the request of the defense lawyers, the trial will be held in a closed session, the Anti-Corruption Action Center reported.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office also supported the motion, as disclosure of the terms of the agreement could affect the investigation in another criminal proceeding.

In addition to Borys Kaufman and Oleksa Borukhovych, the following also agreed to the deal:

• Oleksiy Kostusev, former mayor of Odesa
• former deputy mayor of Odesa Mykhailo Kuchuk;
• Konstantin Efremov, Kaufman's trustee ;
• Oleksiy Kochanov, director of Odesa Airport Development LLC;
• Petro Bahriy, one of the owners of Clear City LLC.

In February, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced that plea agreements had been concluded with the defendants in the case of seizing the Odesa municipal airport and the proceeds from its operation. The organizers of the crime are businessmen Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych.

Earlier, the anti-corruption court approved a plea deal with former Odesa mayor Anatoliy Orlovsky, sentencing him to a suspended sentence.

In November last year, lawyers for businessmen Borys Kaufman and Oleksandr Borukhovych tried to delay the case of illegal seizure of Odesa International Airport and its revenues. Therefore, the HACC has limited the period of familiarization with the materials.

The suspects in the case include former Odesa Mayor Oleksiy Kostusev, his deputy, the head of a LLC, and two well-known businessmen from the region. The investigation established that in 2011, this group of individuals developed a criminal scheme under which a strategic object - the property complex of the Odesa airport, worth about UAH 118 million - was withdrawn from communal ownership and transferred to joint management with private investors. This resulted in the loss of control over the airport and the loss of income from its operations.

The total amount of damage caused to the city and the state exceeded UAH 2.5 billion, including the cost of the facility and misappropriated revenues. It was also established that the former mayor of Odesa received a bribe from businessmen - a penthouse in the city center worth UAH 16 million.

According to the investigation, in 2011, a group of people planned and executed an illegal scheme. The criminals set up an LLC that was formally supposed to become the owner of Odesa International Airport together with the city council. However, in reality, they managed to take full possession of the enterprise and its profits worth UAH 2.5 billion.

The former mayor of Odesa, Oleksiy Kostusev, his deputy Anatoliy Orlovsky, and businessmen Borys Kaufman and Oleksandr Granovsky were suspected.

Кирило Бойко