Apartment fraud worth tens of millions uncovered in Bucha - official
An apartment fraud scheme has been uncovered in Bucha, Kyiv region: two heads of housing construction cooperatives who offered investments in the alleged construction of multi-story buildings have been served with suspicion notices, with veterans and internally displaced persons among the victims, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.
"Bucha, a city that continues to recover after the occupation. And it is here that certain individuals decided to profit from others’ misfortune. Veterans became victims of the scheme, as did those who had already lost their homes due to the war: internally displaced persons. People invested their last savings into new housing and received deception in return," the prosecutor general wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
He said that under the procedural guidance of the Bucha district prosecutor’s office, two individuals were served with suspicion notices under part 5 of article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"These are heads of housing construction cooperatives who offered investments in the alleged construction of multi-story buildings. They signed contracts. Showed ‘documents’. Created an appearance of legitimacy. People paid hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. The result: no housing. Construction not completed, facilities not put into operation, funds misappropriated," Kravchenko said.
According to him, 66 victims have been identified so far. The total amount of damages exceeds UAH 35.5 mln.
"This is not just fraud. This is an attempt to profit from others’ misfortune, from those who lost their home and from those who defended it. We will identify everyone involved in this scheme. And this is a matter of principle: the funds must be returned to the people," the prosecutor general said.