Years of suspected corruption
Mayor of Odessa arrested
05/04/2023, 08:12 p.m
Long before the Russian invasion, Hennady Trukhanov, the mayor of the port city of Odessa, was suspected of embezzlement and abuse of office. A questionable real estate deal in particular is at the center of the investigation.
A court has ordered the mayor of the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, Hennady Trukhanov, to be held in custody for possible abuse of office. However, the 58-year-old could be released on bail equivalent to a good 325,000 euros, according to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court in Kiev.
When buying an administration building in 2016, the city is said to have paid more than four million euros too much to a bankrupt company. Trukhanov is accused of embezzling these budget funds, as the public prosecutor’s office, which specializes in fighting corruption, has now announced. In 2019, the mayor was acquitted in this matter by a court in Odessa.
The investigation into Trukhanov had begun before the Russian invasion. They dragged on for two years and developed into one of the most important corruption cases in the country. The fight against corruption was one of the declared goals of the Maidan revolution in 2014. Ukraine has also been trying to contain this problem for a long time with a view to EU accession.
Trukhanov was elected mayor of the Black Sea port city in 2014, shortly after the Maidan protests. He belonged to former pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions and was considered a highly controversial political figure. Until the start of the Russian war of aggression, Odessa was Ukraine’s largest port and a global hub for smugglers. Since the beginning of the war, Odessa has been attacked several times.