The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) exposed a criminal organization that took control of the Odesa City Council and the city budget, and detained three people, including businessman Borys Kaufman.
NABU reported this on December 5, and Kaufmanʼs name is called the source of "Babel" in law enforcement agencies.
So, three people were detained on suspicion of creating a criminal organization that controlled Odesa City Council officials — two organizers and their confidant.
The investigation established that since the fall of 2021, the participants of the scheme controlled the issues of construction in Odesa, the arrangement of funds from the local budget, as well as the activities of communal enterprises and their interaction with the private sector of the market. In fact, the criminal organization kept under control all the significant budgetary expenses of Odesa and agreed on the main issues of the agenda of the sessions of the Odesa City Council. In order for the scheme to work, its participants bribed officials and deputies of the local council, who ensured that the necessary decisions were made.
Borys Kaufman is a Ukrainian millionaire, businessman, former deputy of the Odesa City Council, owner of the Vertex United group and majority owner of the tobacco giant Tedis-Ukraine.