"A gang has emerged and is imposing seizures on apartments."

In spring 2024, residents of the housing cooperative ZhBK "Zlahoda," located on the outskirts of Vynnyky, accidentally discovered that the cooperative's management was attempting to reclaim their purchased apartments, where they had lived without issues for over three years.

It turned out that the cooperative was trying to annul the ownership rights to the apartments through the court, accusing the shareholders of document forgery. In the course of the proceedings, the Lychakiv District Court imposed arrests on 11 apartments, prompting the residents to initiate a criminal case. The shareholders of the cooperative had no issues with their housing documents until the cooperative was led by Mykhailo Khabal, a person from Khmelnytskyi with a questionable reputation.

ZAXID.NET investigated the history of the construction and explains the essence of the conflict.

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Invested money, forged documents

The housing construction cooperative "Zlahoda" was founded in 2005 by Volodymyr Dzhumak, the former head of the Vynnyky housing maintenance service and a city council deputy. For the construction of housing, Volodymyr Dzhumak leased a plot of about 0.5 hectares at Sakhrova Street, 16b, on the outskirts of Vynnyky. On part of this plot, he began constructing a multi-apartment building.

In 2009, Volodymyr Dzhumak tragically passed away, and his family was only able to complete one building. The other part of the plot remained undeveloped until 2013, when the Vynnyky City Council divided the land and allocated another part for the construction of another multi-apartment residential building, with the executive committee issuing the corresponding urban planning conditions and restrictions.

From 2016 to 2021, ZhBK "Zlahoda" constructed a 10-story residential building with 140 apartments at Sakhrova Street, 16v in Vynnyky. The management of the cooperative hired a developer from Khmelnytskyi – PP "Megaprogress," owned by Yuriy Lutsyuk, as the general contractor for the construction. After Volodymyr Dzhumak, the cooperative was managed by Vyacheslav Sharovsky and Mykola Kolisnyk in 2016, with Dzhumak's wife, Hanna Dzhumak, listed among the founders. Mykola Kolisnyk was not a member of the cooperative but led cooperatives associated with "Megaprogress" in Khmelnytskyi.

Between 2017 and 2020, members of the housing cooperative signed participation agreements in the construction and paid their contributions. The format of the housing construction cooperative stipulates that during the construction phase, associate members pay a share contribution, based on which they later receive property in the building. An investor has the right to sell their share through assignment, after which the buyer becomes a member of the cooperative instead.

After the building was commissioned in 2021, members of ZhBK "Zlahoda" received acceptance acts for their apartments, signed by Mykola Kolisnyk. They moved in, registered ownership rights to their apartments, and in 2022 formed a homeowners' association.

In July 2023, a person from Khmelnytskyi with a questionable reputation, Mykhailo Khabal, was appointed as the head of the cooperative. Within six months, he began accusing residents of illegally acquiring ownership rights to their housing and non-residential premises, achieved the arrest of the real estate, and is attempting to prove in court that their documents are forged and that the cooperative members did not pay their contributions at all.

Moreover, in April 2024, the cooperative under Khabal's leadership registered ownership rights to storage rooms and garages, despite the fact that they were supposed to be privatized by the residents. This turn of events came as a surprise to the residents of the housing complex, and they are attempting to regain ownership of their homes through the courts.

“The lawyer assured us that everything was fine”

The couple Oksana and Yuriy K. (the surnames of the affected shareholders of the cooperative are withheld at their request) bought an apartment in ZhBK "Zlahoda" at the end of 2020 through an assignment – they purchased a share from a cooperative member, registered ownership rights, and lived in the apartment without issues until July 2024.

Oksana K. told ZAXID.NET that there were rumors among residents about some shareholders having problems with their housing documents and lawsuits regarding alleged forgery. In May, the head of the homeowners' association "Zlahoda," Nina Yufan, approached her and asked to check the documents for the apartment.

“At that time, she informed me that a gang had appeared and was imposing arrests on apartments. But I didn’t take it seriously then because my husband and father are at war, I live alone with two children, and I have enough other concerns. The head of the homeowners' association assured me that everything was fine with my apartment documents. She asked to make copies of my documents, but I refused. Later, she provided the contact of a lawyer to check if our property was under arrest. Our lawyer assured us that everything was fine,” Oksana K. recounted to ZAXID.NET.

On July 16, her husband Yuriy K. received a notification in the "Diia" app that an arrest had been placed on his property – the apartment in ZhBK "Zlahoda" – by a court decision.

“When we bought, we didn’t inquire about who the builder was or if there were any problems. We hired a realtor, bought the apartment, and everything was fine,” Oksana K. added.

Marina L. also bought her two-room apartment in 2020 through an assignment. She paid $37,000 (about 902,000 UAH at the then-current NBU exchange rate) as a share contribution for the apartment. Marina L. purchased the apartment from Volodymyr Moroz – a business partner of the general contractor Yuriy Lutsyuk, who effectively acted as a member of ZhBK and held several shares in it.

“We have a notarized statement about the transfer of $37,000 to him, an assignment contract, and a participation agreement. We exchanged documents and notarized the power of attorney,” Marina L. told ZAXID.NET.

In May, the head of the homeowners' association informed the apartment owner that the cooperative had filed a lawsuit against her, and within the proceedings, the court had arrested her apartment. Nina Yufan urged Marina L. not to disclose this information publicly, claiming it would somehow resolve itself over time. She also insisted that Marina L. consult her lawyer.

“We hired our own lawyer and initiated a criminal case, within which the residents of the cooperative were recognized as victims. We maintain the thesis that the documents on the shares were signed not by the legitimate head of the cooperative, Mykola Kolisnyk, but by other people. However, we received a ready package of documents with signatures and seals after payment from Nina Yufan and employees of the sales department. After that, we only went to the notary for the certificate of ownership. But all residents of the 140 apartments have receipts for the payment of those apartments,” Marina L. added.

To draw attention to the issue, on October 27, residents held a peaceful protest outside the cooperative's office on Zvenyhorodska Street, but received no response from the management.

Courts

Legal troubles at ZhBK "Zlahoda" began long before the scandal involving the arrests of apartments. In 2019, the police investigated the alleged tax evasion by officials of the cooperative amounting to nearly 6 million UAH. As of now, no decision has been made in this case, although in 2020, the Sykhiv District Court of Lviv refused to extend the pre-trial investigation period.

In 2021, the Economic Court obliged the cooperative to pay 3.6 million UAH to the Lviv City Council as the successor of the Vynnyky City Council for contributions to the city's infrastructure. The cooperative did not appeal this court decision, so it is currently under consideration by the enforcement service.

That same year, the police in Khmelnytskyi opened a criminal case under part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code (