Oleksandr Turchyn: from Dnipro councilman to criminal case suspect

From the editors. Oleksandr Turchyn, founder of the construction group "Delmar" and a former deputy of the Dnipro City Council, has been declared wanted in a case concerning the legalization of property obtained by criminal means and the forging of official documents. According to law enforcement, companies connected to him figure in proceedings related to problematic residential complexes in Kyiv and Dnipro, and the established losses in one of the Kyiv episodes exceed 175 million UAH. Read more about this in the Telegraph article.

After "Elita-Center," Ukraine should have learned the lesson about construction pyramids forever. But years passed, and operators with similar approaches launch new projects, collect millions from investors, erect problematic buildings in plain sight of officials and oversight bodies, and when the scheme begins to collapse — they end up abroad. That is exactly how the story of Oleksandr Turchyn, who has now been declared wanted, looks. "Telegraf" investigated how, after one of the country’s loudest construction scandals, the system again allowed almost the same scenario to be carried out.If this article’s headline were written for clickbait, it would read: "Budanov’s comrade declared wanted." Those are precisely the kinds of high-powered connections the former deputy and well-known Dnipro developer Oleksandr Turchyn recently boasted about. However, after that, Prosecutor General Kravchenko accused his companies of multiple illegal sales of apartments worth 175 million, and Turchyn himself had to flee Ukraine urgently.According to official data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the businessman has just been declared wanted for laundering dirty money and forging documents. But the real baggage of his "achievements" is much broader: construction pyramids like the notorious "Elita-Center," nominee company directors appointed for two hundred dollars, chaos with permitting documentation. The result of such activity is thousands of deceived investors in Kyiv and Dnipro left without money and promised housing."Telegraf" explains who Oleksandr Turchyn is and what large-scale schemes were hidden for years behind the facade of his construction empire. Oleksandr TurchynTales about the HUR and an illegal 22-story building instead of a parking garageAt the beginning of May, hidden-camera footage appeared on several Telegram resources and later in online media showing a person resembling Delmar construction group founder Oleksandr Turchyn (the scandalous developer and former deputy of the Dnipro City Council, whose company built a number of problematic projects in Kyiv and Dnipro — Ed.) meeting with defrauded investors of the Dnipro residential complex "Myronova."In the video, this businessman attempts to calm angry people by touting his supposedly high-level connections in government offices. He, in particular, persuades listeners that he resolves construction issues at the level of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), noting that some former HUR members are now part of the Office of the President’s leadership. In his words, his network is such that he "hasn’t spoken with anyone except Zelensky himself."As it later turned out, the developer’s loud boasting was just an attempt to divert people’s attention from construction schemes. Law enforcement now believes that instead of the approved underground parking, Delmar illegally built a residential 22-story building on the Dnipro site, and an investigation is underway amid doubts about the legality of the construction.While the recordings concerned Dnipro stalled projects, investigators announced the exposure of another cynical fraud, likely connected to Turchyn and his Delmar — in a residential complex in Kyiv’s Pechersk district. As Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko officially reported, the scheme’s participants treated that Kyiv building as if previous owners had never existed. According to him, the perpetrators changed the technical characteristics of objects and used forged documents to resell square meters that already had lawful owners."To further complicate the establishment of the rights of the defrauded investors, the scheme participants changed the legal address of the residential complex. And the projected 27-story building after completion became 32 stories. The total amount of established losses is over 175 million UAH," Kravchenko wrote.However, Turchyn clearly did not plan to sit on the defendant’s bench. Immediately after the start of active investigative actions and the first mass searches in the "Pechersk" case, but before Kravchenko’s statement, Oleksandr Turchyn hurriedly fled abroad. 26 August 2026, the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police officially declared the fugitive wanted. The developer is accused of laundering property obtained by criminal means on a particularly large scale and of systematic forging of official documents. Oleksandr Turchyn declared wantedPath to big business: from auto repair to construction holdingsThe future developer’s work biography began far from elite real estate. In the early 1990s, Oleksandr Turchyn worked as an ordinary auto-mechanic foreman at the "Kashtan-1" cooperative service station in Dnipro. His first managerial commercial experience came at the Dnipro company TOV "Orion," which was engaged in nonspecialized wholesale trade. For two years, Turchyn served as deputy director there.A true springboard in his career was work at his parents’ developer company ATZT "NVO 'Soyzidatel'" (Sozidatel), which carried out the full construction cycle from design to maintenance of facilities. Over fifteen years, Turchyn rose there from head of the subsidiary "Soyzidatel-D" to chairman of the corporation’s board. He consolidated the experience gained in public service, where he spent a year heading the state enterprise "DniproStandardMetrology" as the chief state inspector of the region for supervision.In parallel with his business, Oleksandr Turchyn built an active public career, becoming a veteran of Dnipro politics and demonstrating remarkable flexibility. His path spans four convocations of the Dnipro City Council (2002–2020 years), during which he was a member of completely different, and often hostile, political forces. Initially elected as an independent, he later joined "Our Ukraine," then moved to the "Party of Regions," and his final council mandate for the 7 convocation was obtained from the "Opposition Bloc," whose regional vertical in Dnipropetrovsk was coordinated by Oleksandr Vilkul. It was under this party’s banner that the developer secured a strategic position on the commission for housing and communal services. However, in November 2017, amid internal party splits, Turchyn promptly left the Opposition Bloc faction and declared himself an independent deputy, trying to shield his construction projects from political risks.Corporate web: from the "Delmar" group to the international DEMA brandAfter leaving the public sector and founding his own construction business, Oleksandr Turchyn deployed an extensive network of private companies. The public face of his empire for a long time was the "Delmar" brand. However, since 2018, Turchyn officially presents himself as founder and CEO of DEMA Development and as coordinator of the international KMG DEMA group.According to official registration data and the developer’s internal structure, the legal web branches into several directions:< >Direct assets of the businessman: Oleksandr Turchyn directly owns the construction firm TOV "Ukrizolit." He also owns the investment company "Crimea Real Estate Deluxe" and stakes in the capital of enterprises "AFA-I Ko" and "Runa."New managerial wing: Founded in 2018, DEMA Development is declared a structure with international investments. On the company’s official website, Turchyn is listed as the head, and among the holding’s official partners are "IBK Eurotechnologies," Italian Eco-Recuperi, and Delmar GMBH. The company’s main office is located in Kyiv at 14a Andriia Verkhohliad Street — the same address where the scandalous residential complex "Delmar" is located.Family capital insurance: To minimize legal risks, key holding companies for years were registered to close associates. The official founder of the international "Delmar" group in the registers for a long time was his mother, Halyna Turchyna. The YouControl system highlights the network’s connections through shared communicationsThis family and tangled corporate foundation allowed Turchyn to attract millions from private investors under various banners until law enforcement documented large-scale financial frauds.Dnipro front: lawsuit demanding demolition of high-rises and two hundred deceived "hostages"The real scale of the disaster around the project on Yevropeiska Street (formerly Myronova, so the project is often called the "Myronova" residential complex) is revealed by materials of the Economic Court of Dnipropetrovsk region. Courts in the case have been ongoing for several years. The Dnipro City Council officially demands the complete demolition at the developer’s expense of the unlawfully erected multi-story residential complex. We are talking about a huge unfinished building with an area of over 25 thousand square meters. Case materials. Screenshot

The city’s main complaint concerns the lack of lawful permits for carrying out the works. According to the plaintiff, the company "Delmar Dnipro Service" did not obtain urban planning conditions and restrictions for designing this high-rise. As the city council’s lawyers assert, the plot was not allocated for large-scale residential construction. The plaintiff alleges that the developer initially illegally registered ownership rights to a fictitious unfinished building in the state register. Only then, on that basis, did the company sign a ten-year land lease agreement with the city. The infamous high-rise in DniproThe situation is further complicated by the fact that the construction site is located within a historic zone. According to the lawsuit, strict architectural restrictions apply in this area due to proximity to an architectural monument. The maximum permissible building height here cannot exceed 20 meters. Instead, as the city council insists, Turchyn’s structures, without proper permits, erected a monster of 27 stories.The biggest tragedy in this case is the people. The court has involved over 225 third parties in the process. These are ordinary citizens who purchased property rights to apartments through companies "Delmar Dnipro Service," "Delmar Invest," and "VTO Capital." People fully paid for housing, but because of the developer’s financial pyramid they now risk being left without a roof over their heads. Meanwhile, the defendant’s representatives in court openly sabotage the process. They report frozen accounts and that the company’s leadership is abroad. The relevant court ruling records that the next hearing is scheduled for 23 September 2026.It is worth adding that in June 2026 the head of one of the contractor companies, Maksym Fedulov, openly accused Oleksandr Turchyn of embezzling investors’ funds. In his version, construction of Delmar’s Kyiv and Dnipro projects completely stopped because the investors’ money was stolen by the holding’s management. According to the contractor, funds were raised via the controlled firm TOV "Delmar Dnepr Servis" with nominal director Aliona Sabinina, and the scheme is already being compared to the infamous "Elita-Center" scam.Kyiv scheming: double sales and looting a state bankDetails of Turchyn’s Kyiv dealings are revealed by official criminal investigation materials currently before the courts. The investigation established that in the "JK Delmar" residential complex at 14a Andriia Verkhohliad Street in Pechersk, cynical criminal schemes of property appropriation were being run.In criminal case No. 12026100060000444, investigators found that scheme participants illegally deprived the state-owned Ukrgasbank of property rights to 50 apartments totaling over 5200 square meters. To carry out the scheme and hide traces, the perpetrators, through the controlled firm "Delmar Arena," changed technical characteristics of premises, forged documents, and cashed out the withdrawn funds through a family enterprise connected to "Delmar" called "BC Service." The court imposed an official seizure on these assets as well as on the developer’s family’s luxury car fleet. "JK Delmar" in KyivAnother cynical method of robbing ordinary investors is detailed in criminal case No. 12026100070000584 (this is the same case recently mentioned by Prosecutor General Kravchenko).The scheme operated through mass re-registration of square meters onto third parties. Organizers fabricated fake additional agreements and forged the signatures of real investors who had previously fully paid for the apartments.On the basis of falsified documents, large apartments were artificially divided into smaller units. These newly created square meters were then quickly registered via a private notary to the wife and daughter of one of the associates.Remember that the Office of the Prosecutor General estimates losses from these Kyiv schemes involving Turchyn’s firms at over 175 million UAH.Kyiv’s "Delrey" residential complex — also not without problemsScandals also accompany another Turchyn project — the business-class "Delrey" residential complex on Viiskovyi proyizd in Kyiv’s Pechersk. As KyivVlada reported, although in June 2026 the Kyiv City Council renewed the land lease agreement for a plot of 0,31 hectares for construction of this residential complex for five years, that decision was made despite recorded architectural and urban-planning violations and prior official refusals.This project is directly connected to DEMA Development, where Oleksandr Turchyn is officially declared as the holding’s head and CEO. The main argument used to lobby the developer’s interests was that work had already begun on the site. However, the object soon fell into a zone of critical legal risk. For example, the LUN resource still lists the object as "under construction," but the commissioning date is absent. It is possible that due to Turchyn’s flight, difficult legal prospects await the complex."Director"-security guard for 200 dollars: features of Oleksandr Turchyn’s managementYou can judge the way Turchyn’s companies operated by looking at the personnel who headed them.According to YouControl data, the director of two key firms within the so-called "Turchyn family" group — TOV "DEL MAR ARENA" and TOV "DEL MAR TOWN" — is a certain Asadullah Anver Ogly Aliyev. This man is officially listed as a signatory for these legal entities.But, as it turned out, this man actually worked as an ordinary security guard for those firms. He was then promised 200 dollars, handed a piece of paper, and made their director.In videos published online, the man openly admits that he agreed for the mentioned pittance to register companies that handle a multi-million construction business in his name.The guard states on camera that he did not understand the scale of the operations and had no involvement in the real management of the holding’s finances. It is through such fictitious structures, where one hired employee’s signatures were used to mass-execute investment agreements, that the defrauded investors’ money was likely diverted to outside accounts.***The most important question in this story is who will be held accountable so that the thousands of people who already invested in Turchyn’s schemes are not left without money or housing. If the organizer of the scheme is more or less clear — he will either be caught and tried or hide abroad for years — the fate of the defrauded investors remains completely uncertain.At the same time, it is entirely unclear what will happen to officials in state and local bodies who for years have "not noticed" this construction frenzy. Someone signed and issued permitting documents for land in Dnipro when a high-rise was erected instead of a parking garage. Someone at the level of state registrars "slept through" and failed to control that the same apartments in Pechersk were cynically sold twice. Someone in architectural and construction control bodies turned a blind eye for years as designed buildings were unlawfully increased by extra floors. Therefore, the editorial office intends to identify by name the persons whose signatures or conscious inaction made the implementation of these multi-million schemes possible.The impunity of officials in Ukraine like this is far from unprecedented. Every time another construction scam loudly bursts and its organizers flee with billions, ordinary people remain the ultimate and defenseless victims. They are forced for years to knock on closed office doors while the state system shrugs its shoulders, showing a complete inability to protect its citizens from construction crime.It is also worth noting another aspect that greatly facilitated perpetrators’ ability to resell the same apartments and carry out other frauds. Under Ukrainian law, the procedure for signing investment agreements remains unprotected, because the law does not require mandatory participation of notaries or registrars at the money-raising stage. Clients sign contracts that do not automatically transfer ownership rights directly with companies, for example — represented by the same Asadullah Anver Ogly Aliyev. This sphere lacks strict state regulation, so "Telegraf" will separately investigate why the regulatory framework allows developers to collect millions on the mere word of nominee persons.The editorial office will send official inquiries to the Office of the Prosecutor General and the National Police to find out which responsible officials in Dnipro and Kyiv city administrations are currently mentioned in criminal cases related to these scandalous developments and what accountability they will face.We will also ask the SBU and the State Tax Service on what grounds the criminal case suspect was able to leave Ukraine freely after the start of investigative actions. Finally, the editorial office is sending a request directly to the Office of the President asking to comment on statements by Turchyn recorded on video and to clarify with which high-ranking officials on Bankova Street the developer tried to "resolve" the issues of his illegal high-rises. Stay tuned.

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