Prosecutors of the Chernivtsi District Prosecutor's Office, together with the police, have reported suspicions against a developer, through whose fraudulent scheme investors in the construction of apartments and townhouses lost over 13 million hryvnias.

According to the investigation, the head of the construction company developed a large-scale advertising campaign to create the illusion of legal and extensive construction of townhouses and apartments in Chernivtsi and its outskirts.

Investors were shown projects, plans, and even organized tours of the construction site. However, the developer did not have land permits and offered to sign simple contracts without a notary and property registration. Some of the work was merely for show — to create the impression that construction was ongoing. Investors never received any documents for the housing, even though they had already paid the money. As a result, they suffered losses of over 13 million UAH.

The developer is charged with fraud in especially large amounts (part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and his property has been seized.

The court has chosen a preventive measure of detention with the alternative of posting a 6 million UAH bail.

The investigation continues to identify victims of the fraud.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in the Chernivtsi region with operational support from the Cyber Police Department in the Chernivtsi region.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.