Court Ruling Ends Six-Year Legal Battle over Fraudulent Property Registrations in Lviv
A protracted legal dispute regarding properties on Akadema Lazerenco Street in Lviv has reached a conclusion, following a recent verdict from the Frankivsk District Court. The court annulled the state registration of property rights for a building formerly owned by Iryna Malkova, a decision that underscores the ongoing fallout from a case dubbed the «Fraud of the Century.» This news comes from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
According to Halyna Pionkevych, the head of the legal department of the Lviv City Council, the property in question spans 1020.2 square meters and is located at 31 Akadema Lazerenco Street. Ownership was originally registered in 2016 by the private enterprise «Avtolyuks-Servis,» based on a nonexistent decree from the Halytska District Administration. The property’s ownership was suspiciously split into four unequal shares during this process.
In January 2018, the Frankivsk District Court initiated a criminal investigation into the case, and on December 8, 2022, the court upheld an appeal from the Lviv City Council, which led to the annulment of the property rights registration. On the same day, property rights were transferred to Iryna Malkova, reportedly as part of debt enforcement proceedings. However, within two months, the Frankivsk Court of Lviv reopened the case.
The legal battles spanned six years and reached another turning point in March of the following year when the registration was once again annulled. However, the decision remains subject to appeal, leaving the door open for further legal wrangling.
The situation came to light in late 2016 when the Lviv City Council’s Department of Municipal Property discovered that numerous municipal properties in Lviv had been fraudulently re-registered to private entrepreneurs. This prompted law enforcement agencies to initiate criminal proceedings, resulting in the seizure of 24 properties and searches conducted at the city council. This widespread fraud has been labeled «the fraud of the century» by the media, with some properties successfully reverted back to municipal ownership.
The wrongful appropriation of public assets was allegedly carried out through a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by local figures, including Iryna Sandul, Lyudmyla Malkova, and Oleg Rohotsky. Iryna Malkova, a former head of LLC «Staron OK,» which was linked to some of the re-registered properties, is related to the Malkova family, adding complexity to the case. The ongoing saga highlights the challenges of protecting public property and the necessity for vigilant oversight in municipal governance.
