High Anti-Corruption Court sets date for hearing of Bryndak case

The High Anti-Corruption Court has scheduled a hearing in the case against former Deputy Mayor of Odesa Oleh Bryndak in the case of the criminal organization of Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych.

According to the court order, the hearing is scheduled for May 14 at 14:00.

In April 2025, Oleh Bryndak was expelled from the Standing Committee on Spatial Development, Land Management and Regulation of Land Relations.

In December 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office brought to court the case of a criminal organization that caused the Odesa community to lose UAH 689 million. The 11 defendants include the current mayor of Odesa, city council officials, the head of an enterprise and other participants.

According to the investigation, the criminal organization developed a plan to illegally seize budget funds and community land. As a result of its actions, from 2016 to 2019, the territorial community lost at least six land plots with a total area of 15.9 hectares and UAH 131 million, which Odesa City Hall officials illegally overpaid when buying non-residential real estate on the site, which was allegedly planned to be used to expand the cemetery. The total amount of damage caused by the examination is UAH 689 million.

The participants used so-called "conceptual contracts," through which developers paid money directly to the organization, not to the community. City council officials provided the "necessary" decisions for the transfer of land for almost free.

In December 2022, NABU detectives announced suspicions of bribery and participation in a criminal organization to three deputy mayors of Odesa. They also detained a former MP and a confidant along with businessman Borys Kaufman in Odesa.

According to the investigation, the deputy mayors, the businessman, the MP and the trustee were all links in the criminal organization's activities.

According to the investigation, since the fall of 2021, members of this criminal organization have controlled the development of Odesa, the management of local budget funds, as well as the activities of utilities and their interaction with the private sector.

Кирило Бойко