The suspects, Kaufman and Borukhovych, involved in the illegal takeover of Odesa Airport, have reached an agreement with the prosecution.

The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) has agreed to a plea deal for Boris Kaufman and Alex Borukhovich. The businessmen are accused of organizing and illegally seizing the "Odesa" airport. 

This is stated in the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court dated February 24, reports "Slovo i Dilo".

The document indicates that an indictment was submitted to the High Anti-Corruption Court along with a register of materials from the pre-trial investigation, receipts from the suspects and their defenders confirming the receipt of copies of the indictment and the register of pre-trial investigation materials, as well as the plea agreement in the criminal proceedings.

The day before, a similar agreement was reached with Kaufman and Borukhovich's accomplice, former Odesa mayor Anatoliy Orlovskyi. He was given a suspended sentence. This agreement may allow the businessmen to avoid imprisonment.

Reference. According to the investigation, in 2011, a group of individuals, including the former mayor of Odesa, his deputy, the head of one of the limited liability companies, and two businessmen, developed and implemented a criminal scheme.

As a result, the property complex of the international airport was transferred from the ownership of the territorial community to the joint ownership of the city and private investors. Consequently, the city completely lost control over the "Odesa" airport and did not receive any profits from it.

In May 2024, the investigation was completed, and suspicions against officials Kaufman and Borukhovich were updated. According to the investigation, they were part of a criminal group that illegally seized the "Odesa" airport in 2011. In 2023, the court imposed a preventive measure on Kaufman in the form of detention in a pre-trial detention center with the possibility of bail.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court increased the bail amount to 180 million UAH for the businessman suspected of seizing the property of the "Odesa" airport. This likely refers to one of the organizers of the scheme, Boris Kaufman.