Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In the high-profile case about renting the premises on Stepan Bandera Street, which StopCor reported on in an explosive investigation at the end of July, there are new details. 30 In July the Commercial Court of the Chernivtsi region issued a decision in case No. 926/1135/26: it ordered the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council to pay entrepreneur Larysa Nahorniak more than 1,1 million UAH in compensation for the consequences of the auction of 2022 year.
From the Ruling in case No. 926/1135/26, which is in the editorial office’s possession, it appears that Larysa Nahorniak filed a lawsuit with the Commercial Court of the Chernivtsi region against the Department of Municipal Property and the Chernivtsi City Council with the following claims:
1) to apply the consequences of the invalidity of the transaction and recover from the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council in favor of the claimant monetary funds in the amount of 554 838,28 UAH;
2) to recover at the expense of the city budget of Chernivtsi from the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council in favor of sole proprietor Nahorniak L.Y. damages (property loss) in the amount of 917 632,73 UAH;
3) to recover at the expense of the city budget of Chernivtsi from the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council in favor of sole proprietor Nahorniak L.Y. non-pecuniary (moral) damages in the amount of 300 000,00 UAH.
What did the court decide?
30 July 2026 year the court partially satisfied the claim. At the expense of the Chernivtsi city budget, the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council must pay to the individual entrepreneur Larysa Yosypivna Nahorniak the following sums:
monetary funds in the amount of 164 161,74 UAH,
damages (property loss) in the amount of 917 632,73 UAH,
moral damages in the amount of 100 000,00 UAH,
and also 14 181,30 UAH of court fee costs.
In total — more than 1,19 million UAH, which the Department of Municipal Property must pay from the community’s budget.
Reminder of the case background
This concerns the auction of 2022 year for the lease of a municipal premises in the center of Chernivtsi — on Stepan Bandera Street.
9 May 2022 year the head of the Department of Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi City Council approved the announcement of an auction to extend the lease agreement for this premises. The next day, 10 May, the announcement was posted on the Prozorro.Sales platform.
14 June 2022 year an electronic auction took place (lot No. LLP001-UA-20220510-35893). Participant Nataliya Vargotska offered a price only 1 hryvnia higher than a competitor but failed to submit the mandatory documents required by the city council. By Order of the Department No. 208 dated 21 June 2022 year, the auction protocol was not approved and Vargotska was disqualified.
After uploading that decision into the electronic trading system, a new protocol was automatically generated, under which the winner was the participant with the next price offer — sole proprietor Larysa Nahorniak.
5 July 2022 year by Order of the Department No. 237 that protocol was approved. 7 July Nahorniak paid an additional 26 254,23 UAH as the auction operator’s fee. 19 July 2022 year a lease agreement No. 72 was concluded between the Department of Municipal Property and sole proprietor Nahorniak.
However, instead of signing the act of acceptance-transfer of the premises, the city hall effectively began a multi-year legal confrontation — first with the previous tenant, and then with the tenant under the concluded agreement No. 72. Despite having a signed contract, Nahorniak was unable for a long time to start entrepreneurial activity in the premises due to obstruction by city officials and the Department of Municipal Property.
At the same time she duly paid rent after receiving the keys to the premises under contract No. 72: a total of 554 838,28 UAH, while not being able for a single day to lawfully conduct her own business activities in the premises.
Only on 1 August 2025 year — in execution of the decision of the Commercial Court of the Chernivtsi region dated 14.03.2025 (upheld by the Western Commercial Court of Appeal on 24.06.2025 and by the Supreme Court on 2 September 2025 in case No. 926/2191/24) — was the premises finally handed over to the tenant by act. In other words, the actual transfer took place three years after signing the contract, which indicates deliberate delay by the city hall.
StopCor detailed the chronology of the legal carousel, the conflict of interest in the case, and the connection of the situation to Mayor Roman Klychuk’s business in an article based on an investigation by “Stop Corruption TV.”
Note that during the term of the contract Larysa Nahorniak paid 554 838,28 UAH in rent — despite not being able for a single day to lawfully carry out business activities.
Overall, as a result of the defendant’s unlawful actions, Nahorniak claims property damage in the amount of 917 632,73 UAH and moral damages in the amount of 100 000 UAH in connection with the annulment of lease agreement No. 72 — these amounts are to be recovered from the Chernivtsi budget through the Department of Municipal Property in favor of the claimant. The amount of damages is confirmed by the decision of the Commercial Court of the Chernivtsi region in case No. 926/1135/26 dated 30.07.2026.
The premises in the city center were not transferred into commercial lease to the lessee with whom the agreement was signed for a full three years (36 months) due to an apparently artificially prolonged litigation process. At a rental rate of about 61 thousand UAH per month this means more than 2 million UAH of lost revenue for the Chernivtsi city budget — excluding contract-indexation, as well as time and legal costs of the city council’s lawyers.
Taking into account the artificial delay of proceedings and subsequent court payments, the total damages caused to the community of Chernivtsi may be estimated at over 1,5 million UAH, excluding lost profits. It is worth stressing that these funds could have been directed to community needs and to support the military under martial law.
The question arises: was it appropriate for the Chernivtsi City Council and the Department of Municipal Property to initiate a multi-year, costly legal campaign against an entrepreneur and spend the community’s funds on this case instead of allowing the entrepreneur to operate under the concluded contract?
The online media editorial office contacted Chernivtsi deputies
Against the backdrop of the rulings, the editorial office of the online media LLC “Stop Corruption TV” sent an official request to deputies of the Chernivtsi City Council asking them to comment on the situation, to initiate the creation of a temporary investigative commission to investigate the actions of officials of the Department of Municipal Property and the executive committee in the case of the object on Stepan Bandera Street, 5, and also to consider at a session the issue of personal responsibility of the persons whose decisions led to the recovery of more than a million hryvnias from the budget, and to appeal to law enforcement agencies to check the targeted use of community funds.
The editorial office awaits a response from the deputies and city officials and for them to take appropriate measures.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Чернівецька орендна епопея: суд встав на бік підприємиці і зобов’язав мерію Клічука виплатити їй 1,1 млн". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NARDEP 24.