16 October 2026, 15:39
A former Odessa lawmaker was extradited from Romania for real estate fraud
Ця стаття також доступна українською
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
A former member of the Odesa City Council, who was wanted abroad, has been extradited from Romania to Ukraine. He is suspected of organizing a scheme involving municipal properties worth over 11 million hryvnias.
This was reported by the press service of the National Police in the Odesa region.
According to the investigation, the man was a member of the Odesa City Council and served on the standing committee on municipal property. He assembled and led a group of several trusted associates.
The group members forged documents and misappropriated non-residential municipal properties in downtown Odesa. They then converted them into residential apartments and sold them.
Between 2011 and 2019, they took possession of three properties and a plot of land. The losses to the municipal community amount to over 11 million hryvnias.
In 2024, investigators submitted case files regarding the three suspects to the court. They are charged with fraud, forgery of documents, illegal occupation of a land plot, unauthorized construction, and the legalization of property obtained by criminal means.
At that time, the former deputy was notified of the charges in absentia—that is, without his presence. He was in hiding from the investigation.
He is suspected of organizing fraud on an especially large scale, forging and using forged documents, unauthorized construction on an illegally occupied land plot, and laundering property obtained through criminal means.
An international arrest warrant was issued for the suspect. This October, he was located and extradited—that is, handed over to Ukraine.
This was achieved thanks to cooperation between investigators, the Odesa Regional Police’s Department of International Police Cooperation, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the relevant Romanian authorities.
The police have not disclosed the suspect’s name; however, Intent previously reported on this case and noted that Lyudmila Varavva, Oleksandr Matveev, and Roman Senyk are members of the Odesa City Council’s standing committee on municipal property. Given this information, the suspect is likely Oleksandr Matveev; however, law enforcement has not officially confirmed his identity.
