Searches conducted at the homes of officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) in connection with the valuation of the Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center pose a threat to the country's privatization process as a whole, including the privatization of such landmark assets as Odesa Port-Side Plant, Oriana, Odesa Film Studio, Kharkivenergozbut, and Indar, according to SPFU Head Dmytro Natalukha.
"I believe this story is dangerous not so much because of any particular shopping mall, but because it concerns the disruption of the privatization process in the country as a whole... The operation was planned legally, physically, and informationally. In just one night, Telegram channels spread so many fake stories about me, my family, and my team that it is not difficult to understand where the next blow will be directed. Odesa Port-Side Plant, Oriana, Odesa Film Studio, Kharkivenergozbut, Indar. Someone is very unwilling to see state control restored over these assets and transparent privatizations carried out," he wrote on Facebook.
As the head of the State Property Fund said, he personally briefed the president on most of these assets several weeks ago, including the risks involved.
As reported, on Thursday law enforcement officers conducted court-authorized searches at the residences of certain officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine as part of a criminal investigation into the possible undervaluation of the Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center (Kyiv) prior to its sale.
"According to the investigation, certain officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine may have acted in the interests of representatives of commercial entities to create conditions for the sale of this asset to a preselected business entity at an artificially reduced price," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a press release.
Natalukha stressed that "the Prosecutor General's Office allegations do not withstand scrutiny," because the Fund does not conduct asset valuations, does not determine their value, and cannot sell them to a preselected buyer.
"The Fund does not determine the value of the shopping center itself and therefore cannot undervalue it... Based on an independent valuation, the State Property Fund convenes an auction commission (for Ocean Plaza, it has not even taken place yet) and submits the proposed starting price (again, not the value, but only the starting price) to the Cabinet of Ministers. If this price exceeds UAH 250 million, the law stipulates that it may be approved only by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. There are no alternatives. In their rush to conduct searches, law enforcement officers apparently did not have time to read Cabinet Resolution No. 75 dated January 21, 2026," Natalukha wrote.
Under Ukrainian law, the asset valuation itself is carried out by independent appraisers – private professionals holding special qualification certificates and not employed by the Fund. They prepare a valuation report, which is then subject to review and verification. The shopping and entertainment center will be sold through an online auction on the Prozorro platform.
