Corruption

Luxury cars and real estate in Spain of Odesa ex-military commander Borisov to be transferred to ARMA

The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) has taken over the property of Yevhen Borysov, the former head of the scandalous Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support, in Spain. The court has already seized an elite house and office space. This was reported by the head of the ARMA Olena Duma, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

According to her, these assets were searched for at the request of the pre-trial investigation authorities. After that, the ARMA received a decision from the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv to seize real estate in Marbella (Spain).

According to Duma, a number of measures have already been taken to legalize the decision of the Ukrainian court in the Kingdom of Spain.

In particular, property located in Spain has been transferred to the management of ARMA, including several luxury cars and real estate

• a house with an area of 857 square meters (estimated value of EUR 4 million)
• office premises with an area of 223.9 square meters (estimated value of EUR 510 thousand).

According to the pre-trial investigation body, all this expensive property was purchased during the full-scale war and registered in the names of close relatives of the former head of the Odesa TCC.

“Consequently, a decision of the court of first instance of Marbella was issued in respect of this seized property complex, which prohibits the owner from disposing of, alienating, transferring or performing any other type of encumbrance of this property. The restriction was issued by a foreign court as part of the international legal assistance provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office,” Duma emphasized.

ARMA is currently awaiting the start of the legalization procedure for this decision. After the agency receives the legalized decision from the Marbella court, ARMA will take measures aimed at effective management of the seized property of the former head of the Odesa TCC for its use in the interests of the state.

A video of what the luxury villa looks like from the inside is available on the YouTube channel of the Drumelia real estate agency.

It should be noted that criminal proceedings are already underway against Borysov under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In 2023, he was detained by the State Bureau of Investigation and the court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of bail of UAH 150 million. Subsequently, the courts reduced the bail to UAH 12 million.

The SBI conducted an extensive investigation, collecting a “huge” amount of evidence.

The investigation found that family members of the former head of the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Manning and Social Support purchased expensive cars in Ukraine and then moved them abroad. Also, the acquisition of luxury real estate abroad, totaling more than UAH 190 million, was recorded.

The difference between the value of the acquired assets and the legal income of the suspect and his family members is over UAH 140 million. The origin of these funds is not confirmed by any documents.

To ensure a full and impartial investigation, media reports were also studied. The materials of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) were also examined, which also found signs of illicit enrichment of the former Odesa military commissar worth more than UAH 188 million.

For example, one of the journalistic investigations showed that the military commander’s mother became the owner of a residential building in Spain worth more than 4 million euros last year. It also turned out that, in addition to elite foreign real estate, she also purchased a Mercedes-Benz EQV car for almost UAH 3 million this year.

Subsequently, law enforcement officers found that the ex-military commander’s mother-in-law had also become the owner of an expensive car fleet in recent years without having sufficient funds of legal origin. It included: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG, Toyota Land Cruiser.

The ex-military commissar’s wife also purchased other foreign real estate – an office space in Spain worth 737 thousand euros, also without having sufficient legally obtained assets and income for this purpose.

The former military commissar has already been notified of suspicion:

• acquisition by a person authorized to perform state functions of assets whose value is more than six thousand five hundred tax-free minimum incomes of citizens exceeds his/her legitimate income (Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• failure to report on time for service without valid reasons by a serviceman committed under martial law is a criminal offense (part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)
• evasion of military service duties by deception committed under martial law (Article 409(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanctions of the articles provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years.