On November 7, the HACC partially granted a motion by the SAPO prosecutor and modified the interim measure for former Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov, accused of participating in a criminal organization and unlawfully seizing community land. The court increased Trukhanov’s bail from UAH 30 million to UAH 42 million.

At the same time, the court rejected the prosecutor’s request to remand Trukhanov in custody.

On October 14, Trukhanov was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship over the alleged possession of a Russian passport.

According to the investigation, between 2016 and 2019, members of a criminal organization that included Trukhanov developed a scheme for the unlawful transfer of land plots for future development. The community-owned land was leased to preselected developers without open competition. In return, those developers paid money or transferred property to the perpetrators, who, through their contacts in the Odesa City Council, ensured the adoption of the necessary lease decisions.

The damage caused to the community is estimated at UAH 689 million.

Investigators also established instances of money laundering of funds obtained by the criminal organization from other criminal offenses.