Position: prosecutor of Odesa region in 2016-2019.
Sphere of corruption activity: law enforcement agencies.
Region of corruption : Odeshchyna.
Qualification: Part 1 Art. 255, Part 4 of Art. 28, Part 2 of Art. 364, Part 5 of Art. 191, Part 3 of Art. 209, Part 4 of Art. 368, Part 3 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - an offer or promise to an official to provide him or a third party with an unlawful benefit, as well as the provision of such a benefit for the commission or omission by the official in the interests of the person who offers, promises or provides such a benefit, or in the interests of a third party of any actions using the power or official position granted to him, if an unlawful benefit was given to an official holding a responsible position, or committed by a group of persons with a prior conspiracy, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of four to eight years with or without confiscation of property.
Status: On September 10, 2024, the High Anti-Corruption Court scheduled a hearing in the case of Oleg Zhuchenko, the former prosecutor of the Odesa region, accused of abuse and obtaining an illegal benefit, as well as using a forged document.
On May 2, 2024, VAKS limited the time for the defense to review the investigation materials. After August 31, 2024, the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office will refer criminal proceedings to the court on the suspicion of the former Odesa Oblast prosecutor Oleg Zhuchenko in abuses and receiving illegal benefits.
The plot of the case:
NABU and SAP suspected 16 people of creating a criminal organization and abuses in Odesa for 689 million hryvnias.
According to NABU, these persons took possession of six plots of land in Odesa at the following addresses: 4 Gagarin Plateau (Sea View residential complex); Varnenska, 27 with the letters A, B and G (JK "Sky City"); Zhabotynskoho 54A (apartment complex "Altair-3") and Akademichna, 30 (apartment complex "Marine Residence"). All these houses were built by the "Budova" company, which is associated with Galanternik. Separately, those involved are suspected of taking possession of over UAH 131 million for the purchase of the land plot of the former Zastava airfield at an inflated cost.
During 2016-2019, land in Odesa was provided for development according to a defined scheme to pre-determined companies outside the competition. At the same time, the money that should have gone to the community was paid by the developers on the basis of "conceptual contracts" to a criminal organization, which, through controlled persons in the Odesa City Council, ensured the adoption of the "necessary" decision regarding the leasing of this or that plot of land.
The members of the criminal organization received from the developer the real market value of the building right - approximately UAH 100-200 million for each plot of land.
At the same time, the criminal organization strictly followed the measures of the conspiracy and even used counterintelligence techniques, such as testing future members of the organization on a polygraph and using secure communications
Persons potentially involved in Oleg Zhuchenko's schemes:
The suspicion was reported to: the head of the criminal organization, Volodymyr Galanternyk (in absentia, because he is not in Ukraine); to the mayor of Odesa, Gennady Trukhanov; Vasyl Shkryabay, head of the standing commission on municipal property of the Odesa City Council; Inna Popovska, head of the legal department of the OMR; to Oleksiy Spektor, director of the communal property department of the OMR, and his deputy, Volodymyr Radionov; acting deputy mayor of Odesa Oleg Bryndak (former acting mayor of Odesa in 2013-2014, former head of the land commission of the OMR) and three more persons who were in charge of the functions of financial control, legal support and coordination of actions between members of the criminal organization.
Also, suspicion was handed over to six other persons (accomplices), in particular, Trukhanov's deputy; to the former head of one of the utility companies; to the owners of the construction company "Budova" and its top managers.
Scandals :
In 2016, it was not without Oleg Zhuchenko's action that the Prosecutor's Office of the Odesa Region failed to investigate a large-scale scam by officials regarding communal property.
"Dachu Marazli" on French Boulevard, premises of the old recreation center on the Danube island of Limba. The police, led by the prosecutor's office, opened a criminal case, but since then none of the officials have been suspected.
The prosecutor's office named Vladyslav Balaban, the director of the Herodot company, who bought the Dacha Marazli, as the only suspect in the case. The case was even taken to court, but Balaban was miraculously acquitted there. As a result, the seizure was lifted from all illegally acquired plots. After that, the precincts began to be built up.
Persons who should have responded to Oleg Zhuchenko's corruption schemes:
In the case of Oleg Zhuchenko, law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor's office and the court worked well, but for a very long time.
Fortune:
Apartment in Odesa 153 square meters, car space, land plot in Vinnytsia region 8 acres, BMW 520, salary in 2019 636 thousand UAH.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/7adb426f-8eea-44e2-b2ba-db9bcf33c652