NABU opens criminal proceedings against Odesa ex-prosecutor Kornilov over undeclared real estate in Dubai - media
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau has opened a criminal investigation into the alleged false declaration of former Deputy Prosecutor of Odesa Region Oleh Kornilov, who previously had property in Dubai worth more than $400,000.
This is reported by Radio Liberty with reference to the response of the NABU press service, Censor.NET reports.
Undeclared real estate
As noted, the case is based, in particular, on the facts from the investigation of the "Schemes" about the real estate of the former prosecutor in Dubai, which he did not mention in any of his declarations.
Prior to that, the NACP audited Kornilov's declaration for 2022 and sent a substantiated conclusion on the grounds of inaccurate information to the NABU.
"The information published in the Scheme's investigative journalism program about the assets, in particular, real estate of the former head of the Odesa Region Prosecutor's Office, is the subject of a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings initiated by NABU detectives on 20.12.2024 on the grounds of a crime under Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code (declaration of false information)," the NABU said in a response to a journalist's request.
Earlier, Kornilov's declarations were checked by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and confirmed that he had undeclared real estate in Dubai, as reported by Schemes.
"During the audit, the National Agency found that the declarant owns real estate located in the United Arab Emirates, as confirmed by the official land registry of Dubai," the NACP said in its report.
What is the Schemes investigation about?
On May 14, Schemes published an investigation in which journalists from more than 70 media organizations from around the world analyzed data on thousands of properties in Dubai, mostly for 2020 and 2022.
The investigation focused on Kornilov's property worth more than USD 400 thousand, namely two apartments in Jumeirah Bay X1 Tower, which he purchased in 2011-2012, and a hotel room in Aykon City-Tower B, which Kornilov became the owner of in 2016.
The ex-prosecutor has been renting these apartments since 2014, as evidenced by the transaction data from the Dubai Public Registry, which is available to journalists. In total, he managed to earn over USD 100 thousand from such activities.
In 2020, Kornilov first sold one apartment, and then the second in 2023. He received a total of over USD 250 thousand for them.
As of December 2024, Kornilov still owns a hotel room, which he purchased for USD 210 thousand.
In addition, the NACP also found that the Odesa ex-ex-prosecutor did not indicate in the declaration monetary assets, income, corporate rights, and the cost of vehicles worth more than UAH 2 million.
What is known about Oleh Kornilov?
Oleh Kornilov was a deputy chief prosecutor of Odesa region, after which he was promoted to the position of deputy head of the investigation department of the regional prosecutor's office, and later became the head of the department.
However, in 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, he was lustrated and dismissed from his position under the law "On the Purification of Government."
Kornilov filed a lawsuit with the Odesa District Administrative Court against the prosecutor's office to have his job reinstated with back pay for the period of "forced absenteeism" and to have the 10-year ban on holding office lifted.
In 2020, the Odesa District Administrative Court ruled to reinstate him as head of the Investigation Department of the Odesa Region Prosecutor's Office, and a year later, the local Administrative Court of Appeal finally upheld the decision. He was also paid more than UAH 2.3 million from the budget for "forced absenteeism" since 2014.
After his reinstatement, Oleh Kornilov remained in office for a little over a year, and in August 2022, he resigned "of his own free will."
