Owner of water parks detained and convicted in Kherson region

In Kherson region, a businessman was detained for collaborating with the Russian occupiers and found guilty of collaboration. The court gave him a suspended sentence and ordered him to transfer 2 million hryvnias to support the Armed Forces.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism with reference to the court verdict.

Taras Chekurda, a 46-year-old businessman who owns water parks and dolphinariums in Kyrylivka, Zaporizhzhia region, and Henicheska Hirka, Kherson region, decided to resume their activities in 2023 in cooperation with the Russian occupiers. He illegally re-registered the enterprises under Russian law and established cooperation with a Russian company from Yekaterinburg, which is under Ukrainian sanctions.

According to media reports, Taras Chekurda, born on January 28, 1979 in Kyiv, was the actual owner of Dolphinarium Sunshine LLC and Oscar Henichesk LLC. In 2023, he and his partners organized the illegal registration of these companies with the occupation authorities.

The businessman and his accomplices developed a plan to continue their criminal activities, distributed responsibilities, financed operations and covered their tracks. They established cooperation with the Russian company JSC "Production Firm "SKB Kontur" from Yekaterinburg, which is under sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

After his detention, Chekurda pleaded guilty and agreed to make a charitable contribution of UAH 2 million to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The court found him guilty under Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (collaboration) and sentenced him to five years in prison with a two-year suspended sentence. The sentence has not yet entered into force.

Recently, in Odesa, a court seized the property of former MP Tarpan, who is suspected of high theft and embezzlement of budget funds. According to the investigation, he transferred dozens of vintage cars to a museum in Moscow to popularize the power structures of the aggressor country and was involved in embezzling money during the execution of a contract for the overhaul of a shelter.

Анна Бальчінос