Nov. 5, 2025, 1:26 p.m.
(A plot of land by the sea. PHOTO: od.gp.gov.ua)
The former chief architect of the Fontanka village council forged documents to transfer land to developers without an auction. The court found him guilty but released him from prison.
This is evidenced by the verdict of the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa.
In Odesa region, the court found guilty the former chief architect of the Fontansky village council, who forged documents to transfer commercially attractive land plots under the guise of transport areas. The official entered false information into urban planning documents, which allowed developers to obtain land without a tender.
According to the investigation, in November 2022, two companies, Odesa Project Land Management Group LLC and Nova Kryzhanivka LLC, applied to the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Fontansky Village Council. They wanted to get land plots in the village of Vapnyarka and register them for use. The chief architect, having access to the documentation, drew up official extracts in which he deliberately entered false data - he replaced the codes of functional zones and the type of land use.
In fact, the plots that were listed in the master plan as "residential area" were shown as transport or recreational land. This made it possible to formalize the transfer without holding an open auction. In this way, plots with high commercial value could be used for residential and public development, as well as tourist infrastructure. Such cases have been repeated.
The investigation established that the architect did not act alone - he conspired with unidentified persons to obtain benefits. During the trial, the accused pleaded guilty and confirmed all the facts set out in the case.
The court classified his actions under two articles of the Criminal Code - abuse of office (part 2 of Article 364) and issuance of deliberately false official documents (part 1 of Article 366). All of these crimes were committed intentionally, using official position against the interests of the state.
In October 2025, the prosecutor and the accused entered into a plea agreement. The court took into account the sincere repentance, positive characterization and lack of previous convictions.
As a result, the former chief architect was released from serving a custodial sentence and placed on probation for two years. He also has to pay a UAH 17,000 fine and cannot hold positions in urban planning for two years.
In September, Odesa court considered a case of illegal construction on the former Lidersivskyi Boulevard (now Hetman Sahaidachnyi Boulevard). According to the investigation, over several years, city council officials, employees of the State Geocadastre and private companies implemented a scheme that allowed them to build a residential complex on the site of tennis courts without proper permits.
Анна Бальчінос