On June 12, the HACC approved a plea agreement with several defendants in the case concerning the misappropriation of assets belonging to the municipal enterprise “Odesa International Airport” worth UAH 118 million, as well as income from its operations between 2012 and 2022 totaling over UAH 2.5 billion.
The following individuals were found guilty:
• businessman Alex Borukhovych,
• businessman Borys Kaufman,
• former Mayor of Odesa Oleksii Kostusiev,
• former Deputy Mayor of Odesa Mykhailo Kuchuk,
• Director of ODESA AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT LLC Oleksii Kochanov,
• Kaufman’s proxy Kostiantyn Yefremov, and
• co-owner of CLEAR-CITY LLC Petro Bahrii.
They were sentenced to 7 to 8 years of imprisonment and fines totaling over UAH 400 million. However, due to their cooperation and provision of incriminating testimony, all were released from serving their sentences, with probationary periods imposed. For certain offences, criminal liability was waived due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the defendants must fully compensate the Odesa City Council for the damage caused, including UAH 150 million payable to the city council's account, and return of nearly 2,500 property units to municipal ownership. The Odesa City Council retains ownership of the international airport.
For the first time in Ukraine, the maximum statutory fine of UAH 204 million was imposed. Another defendant received a fine of UAH 102 million, while two others were fined over UAH 30 million each.
In addition, the court ordered the confiscation of over UAH 6 million, more than $582,000, €6,000, and six luxury real estate properties, including a 700 m² apartment in central Odesa. An additional $20,000 was confiscated in favor of the state.
The defendants have already transferred UAH 20 million to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and have committed to paying an additional UAH 106 million for the same purpose.
In total, the defendants agreed to transfer assets and funds worth over UAH 1 billion to the state and the Odesa community — the largest compensation amount in the history of plea agreements in Ukraine.
The trial itself was held behind closed doors, according to the motion filed by the defense.