Kuchuk's Family Schemes: What the Land Under the Scandalous Odrex Clinic Hides

The land under the controversial Odrex clinic on Rozkydailivska Street in Odesa has become the subject of a criminal investigation. Law enforcement officers are checking facts of possible unauthorized expansion of the land plot and changes to registers without legal grounds. Against the backdrop of this case, Odesa public activist Oleh Mykhailyk said that "land schemes" in Odesa have been possible for years only due to political cover, in particular from former deputy mayor Mykhailo Kuchuk. How the family connection between the founder of Odrex and a local official could contribute to the development of Odrex's medical business, read in the UNN material.

At the heart of the story with the plot on Rozkydailivska 69/71, where the scandalous Odrex clinic is now located, there may be a corruption scheme, the implementation of which began back in 2007. At that time, the plot with cadastral number 5110137500:15:002:0003 and the building on it were acquired by the sewing factory LLC "Acacia Factory". The land was allocated for industrial needs.

Despite the intended purpose, already in 2012, instead of textile warehouses and sewing workshops, a private medical institution Odrex began its activities on the territory. It was in 2012 that the change of the intended purpose of the building on the land plot in the registers could have occurred - from "non-residential buildings and structures" to "non-residential buildings and structures of a healthcare institution" and the illegal expansion of the plot, which law enforcement officers are investigating.

Legally, it looked like the Odrex clinic was renting premises from LLC "Acacia Factory". However, as UNN previously reported, the landlord and tenant are essentially the same people. After all, the beneficiaries of LLC "Acacia Factory" and LLC "Medical House "Odrex" are now Leonid Kuchuk's long-time partners: Iryna Zaikova, Larysa Mysotska, and Yevhen Savytskyi. Leonid Kuchuk himself also acted as a beneficiary of both structures at the dawn of their creation, but later officially withdrew from ownership.

Political "roof" and "Misha Million"

The main actors in the possible corruption scheme around the land plot under the scandalous clinic are the Kuchuks: Leonid - the founder of the Odrex clinic, whose structures today use this land, and Mykhailo - a local official who served as deputy mayor during the terms of mayors Hurvits and Trukhanov. According to media reports, they are connected by family ties.

Mykhailo Kuchuk

Leonid Kuchuk

It is this probable family connection that could have become the "golden key" for the registration of the land plot under the scandalous Odrex and its subsequent possible illegal expansion and change of intended purpose, believes public activist Oleh Mykhailyk.

One of the co-owners of the clinic is Mr. Leonid Kuchuk. And Mr. Mykhailo Kuchuk was the deputy mayor under the well-known Odesa mayor Hurvits. Then he appeared again under Trukhanov, also as deputy. It's no secret that thanks to Mr. Kuchuk, many scandalous buildings appeared in Odesa, including the seizure of a large part of the coastal zone by the dolphinarium, where he or his brother is also a co-owner. From a small dolphinarium, a multi-story hotel with several complexes grew, because Mr. Kuchuk was the deputy mayor of Odesa responsible for construction and issuing permits. Everyone knew him as "Misha Pocket" or "Misha Million"

According to Oleh Mykhailyk, for years an unwritten system operated in Odesa where control over the legality of construction was "turned off" as soon as it concerned the interests of influential families.

I have no surprise that they could seize part of the territory with impunity, for free, because Mr. Kuchuk turned a blind eye to it. And let's say, he could not forbid law enforcement officers from paying attention to it, but such an unwritten rule exists in Odesa, it always worked, especially before.

The activist also draws attention to the cynical side of this story: while the private business of the official's relative could use corrupt schemes and thanks to them obtain land, expand its borders and change its intended purpose - and thus grow its business, the most vulnerable segments of the population could suffer from underreceived money in the city budget. After all, money stolen from the city budget through such land machinations is funds taken from those who most need social assistance.

Any buildings associated with local oligarchs, with crime, big crime, the construction mafia, they try to seize for free. As much as possible. But it's free for the budget, for them it's definitely not free, because what they don't see, they pay for. A private clinic that earns money, actually robs the budget of Odesa and Odesans. And moreover, let's be honest, they rob the most unfortunate, the most needy people, who most likely will not be able to turn there. Except for programs that finance the NHSU

Instead of conclusions

Currently, Mykhailo Kuchuk is under absentia arrest and has fled Ukraine, and Leonid Kuchuk, according to journalists, controls the Odrex medical business from abroad.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the scandalous Odrex clinic are trying to distance themselves from the land scandal. They claim that law enforcement claims only concern the landlord - LLC "Acacia Factory". However, when the same names and family influence of the former deputy mayor of Odesa are behind both companies, arguments about alleged non-involvement look unconvincing.

Odesans remain observers of how an elite medical business is being built on their land, possibly at the expense of underreceived budget money, the use of which is closed to most due to the high price of services.