Sand from cemetery for Zelenskyy and Yermak mansions transported by machinery belonging to Ukrainka Mayor Turenko – Bihus.Info

Sand illegally extracted from a cemetery in the town of Ukrainka and subsequently used to build the Dynasty cottage development in Kozyn was transported by machinery belonging to the town’s mayor, Oleksandr Turenko. He was recently served with a notice of suspicion for the misappropriation of land and embezzlement of public funds.

This was revealed in a Bihus.Info investigation, Censor.NET informs.

What is known?

In the summer of 2022, Ukrainka Town Council signed a contract with a private contractor to improve the municipal cemetery. Machinery belonging to Ukrainka Mayor Oleksandr Turenko was used during the work.

During the same period, law enforcement agencies began investigating the illegal extraction and removal of sand from the site.

According to the investigation, a vehicle entry and exit log seized by law enforcement officers, along with video recordings, indicates that a dump truck belonging to Turenko delivered sand to the construction site of the Dynasty cottage development.

According to investigators, the development was being built for members of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle.

Links to Yermak and suspicions

Bihus.Info also established that the Turenko family has longstanding ties to the family of former Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, for whom investigators believe one of the houses in Dynastiia was being built. In particular, in 2010, Yermak transferred one of his companies to Turenko’s wife, Larysa.

The journalists noted that Turenko received no punishment over the illegal sand extraction episode. Instead, several weeks ago, he was served with a notice of suspicion for the misappropriation of land and embezzlement of public funds.

According to investigators, Turenko may have organised a scheme to register land plots as private property, some of which were subsequently legalised through sale and purchase agreements with third parties.

A separate scheme was allegedly devised for some particularly expensive plots on the banks of the Stuhna River and in a forested area. It involved artificially changing their coordinates. As a result, land plots of lower value on paper were effectively transformed into significantly more valuable ones. Investigators estimate the total losses at more than UAH 75 million.

The court imposed bail of almost UAH 20 million as a measure of restraint, ordered Turenko to surrender his passport for foreign travel and restricted his communication with witnesses. The mayor and his defence team describe the allegations as unfounded.

Suspicion against Yermak in the Dynasty case

As a reminder, on the evening of 11 May, NABU and SAPO served a notice of suspicion on former Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. According to the investigation, more than UAH 460 million was legalised from 2021 to 2025 through a scheme involving the Dynasty cooperative.
NABU said the participants in the Dynasty project agreed to build four private residences on the land plots for personal use. Each house had an area of about 1,000 square metres, and each was worth about US$2 million. The houses were referred to as R1, R2, R3, and R4. They also agreed to build a shared estate, R0, with a spa area, a swimming pool, and a gym.
The main part of the construction was financed with funds obtained by criminal means. Persons controlled by Oleksii Chernyshov also created a front company for this purpose, which placed orders.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the construction did not stop and even continued more actively. Chernyshov demanded that the builders work faster and in several shifts. Yermak oversaw the construction of his residence.
After media publications about Dynasty, the owners of the residences tried to remove the land and real estate from possible seizure. However, the High Anti-Corruption Court seized the land plots and five unfinished Dynasty properties. NABU and SAPO also inspected the cottage estate.
Commenting on the suspicion, the Office of the President said procedural actions were still ongoing, so it was too early to make any assessments.
Yermak’s lawyer, Ihor Fomin, also said the suspicion was unfounded.
Yermak refused to comment on the suspicion and said he had no houses, only an apartment and a car.
It is known that the High Anti-Corruption Court has seized the land plots and unfinished Dynasty properties.
Yermak has linked the notice of suspicion served on him by NABU to "public pressure on law enforcement agencies".
On May 14, a preventive measure was chosen for Yermak: he was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 140 million.
On May 18, Yermak was released from the pre-trial detention center.