NABU completes investigation into Odesa airport director's case

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine have completed the investigation into the case of Olga Makohoniuk, director of Odesa International Airport, who is accused of abuse of office.

In connection with the completion of the investigation, prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office handed over the investigation materials for review by the director's lawyers, after which the case will be sent to court.

According to the investigation, the official deliberately failed to submit an application to the State Aviation Service for airfield certification, which allowed the company to receive income from airline operations (takeoff, landing and parking of aircraft) since 2003.

In addition, instead of protecting the interests of the utility company, the suspect helped to ensure that a private company received the status of airport operator. As a result, in December 2020, the utility company lost this status, and the said company became the new airport operator and began to earn money by providing relevant services to airlines. As a result, the Odesa territorial community suffered losses of more than UAH 15.6 million.

In September, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine released Olga Makohoniuk on bail of one million hryvnias. A detective from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and a prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested that Makohoniuk be arrested with an alternative to bail. However, the court refused and simply set bail for her.

The airport director was also served with a notice of suspicion in September after the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine approved a plea agreement in June for seven people who were members of a criminal organization that established control over the Odesa City Council and received profits from businesses operating in Odesa. Businessmen Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych pleaded guilty to organizing the seizure of the Odesa municipal airport and the proceeds from its activities.

In addition to oligarchs Borys Kaufman and Alex Borukhovych, the case involved the former mayor of Odesa Oleksiy Kostusev, former deputy mayor of Odesa Mykhailo Kuchuk, director of Odesa Airport Development LLC Oleksiy Kochanov, Kaufman's trustee Konstantin Yefremov, and co-owner of Clear City Petro Bahriy.

Кирило Бойко