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May 1, 2026, 8:02 a.m.
Head of village council in Odesa region and his accomplices exposed on land deals
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PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
The SBU exposed a scheme to seize communal land in Odesa region, involving local government officials and their entourage. The suspects include the head of the community, a deputy and related persons who have been transferring land assets to private ownership for years.
This was reported by the press service of the SBU in Odesa region.
According to the case file, officials of local governments, including the head of one of the region's territorial communities, state registrars, and heads of affiliated private enterprises, were involved in the fraud.
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
According to the investigation, the officials, abusing their official position, organized a mechanism for the illegal alienation of communal land. It was established that, based on the decisions of the village council, 31 land plots with a total area of about 60 hectares were transferred to private ownership in 2024.
Later, some of the assets were re-registered to close relatives of the community leader with subsequent donation in favor of his minor son. Other plots were registered in the names of controlled persons. It was established that the citizens who formally registered the land plots did not actually apply to the local government and did not take any actions to obtain them.
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized original documents and other evidence of illegal activity. Currently, three people - the head of the village council, a deputy of the village council - the head of the specialized unit, and a close associate - have been served suspicion notices. The issue of choosing a measure of restraint against the suspects is being decided.
According to the National Police, since 2021, the head of the village council has been implementing a criminal plan he developed to seize communal agricultural land plots. He involved a deputy of the village council - the head of the department of urban planning, architecture, land management, ecology, housing and communal property, as well as other people from his professional and family environment.
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
The offenders prematurely terminated the lease agreement with the agricultural enterprise, after which they organized the division of the land into plots of up to 2 hectares each. Subsequently, these plots were registered in the ownership of controlled persons under the guise of free privatization for personal farming, and then re-registered to the close relatives of the community head.
In this way, the scheme participants managed to take possession of almost 25 hectares of land, dividing it into 13 plots. According to preliminary estimates, the damage caused to the territorial community is up to UAH 1.8 million.
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
According to media reports, Viktor Dyachenko, head of the Mayakivka village council, and Anastasia Moskalenko, head of the land department, were notified of suspicion. This is a long-term land scheme in which the head of the village council re-registered communal land to the company Capital Plus 2023, which he controls.
Also in April, in Odesa, a court seized property in a case of possible embezzlement of the budget during housing overhauls. Officials of the city council and municipal utilities may have been involved in the scheme. The losses are estimated at over UAH 80 million for 2024-2025.
