Sergiy Nadala: NABU criminal proceedings and real estate in the United States

The mayor of Ternopil, Sergiy Nadala, who has been leading the city continuously since 2010 year, has found himself at the center of several stories related to his family's property, the use of municipal land, and anti-corruption investigations. Among the most resonant episodes are his daughter's purchase of real estate in Miami for $2,25 million, the NABU criminal case regarding possible illegal enrichment, and the investigation into the transfer of tens of hectares of city land without land auctions.

18 February 2022 year, six days before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Nadala’s daughter Anastasia Rodriguez bought a house in Miami for $1,87 million. A year later, in February 2023, she bought an apartment in The Wind complex for $380 thousand. The total value of the two objects was $2,25 million, according to media reports. After the purchase, the house was rented out for approximately $16,9 thousand per month. Sergiy Nadala explained the source of funds by saying that his daughter and her husband earned money independently for real estate. At the same time, the scale of purchases attracted the attention of anti-corruption bodies. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention monitored Sergiy Nadala's lifestyle and requested information in the United States. 11 October 2023 year, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office registered proceeding No. 42023000000001705 under Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding possible illegal enrichment. The investigation was entrusted to NABU. A key circumstance in this case remains the absence of a publicly announced suspicion against Sergiy Nadala. The mere fact of a criminal proceeding does not establish the guilt of the official and does not prove the illegality of the daughter's real estate purchases. Questions about the mayor's family wealth arose not only because of the American real estate. In 2013, Sergiy Nadala's father-in-law Bohdan Verbovy bought an apartment of 85,3 square meters in the historic center of Lviv. In Sergiy Nadala's declaration for the year 2025, the salary was listed at about 1,09 million UAH, while his wife Olena's income from entrepreneurial activity amounted to 5,17 million UAH. Separately in property matters, the Audi RS Q8 2025 year, which Sergiy Nadala uses, is registered to another person. Thus, attention to the mayor's property concerns not a single object or a single declaration position, but several assets and financial operations of his family and the associated property environment. Another large block of allegations concerns land in Ternopil. In criminal proceedings No. 12015000000000367, investigators examined the transfer of land plots in 2013–2015 years through investment and construction contracts instead of conducting land auctions. Preliminary losses were estimated at more than 9,575 million UAH. The investigation requested documents regarding 17 hectares of land and four municipal structures. Some documents, according to the supplied data, had to be obtained through a court. It involved decisions and contracts concluded at a time when Sergiy Nadala was already leading Ternopil.

In the materials relating to land operations, companies associated with Yuriy Pylypchuk—the acquaintance of Sergiy Nadala since school days—are mentioned. The company Mercury, connected with Pylypchuk's family, during Nadala's terms became a major local developer and implemented more than ten residential complexes. Yuriy Pylypchuk himself denied having close business relations with Sergiy Nadala. One episode concerned a land plot of 1,5981 hectares on Zlyuky Avenue. After its transfer to a municipal enterprise, it was included in an investment project with the cooperative Autopromin. Another plot of 7,6298 hectares was used for the construction of the Warsaw Quarter. Under the investment agreement, the city was to receive 5% of the housing area in the nine built buildings. In materials of investigations into land decisions, relatives of Roman Kryshtalovskiy, who headed the municipal enterprise Ternopilbudinvestzamovnyk, were also mentioned. Another episode concerned payments to Sergiy Nadala himself. The NAPC checked the mayor's bonuses, in particular a payment in February 2022 year amounting to 250% of the official salary. Subsequently, bonuses amounted to 90–100% of the salary, plus payments for health improvement and socio-domestic needs were provided. Sergiy Nadala denied violations. In 2023 year a court closed the administrative case concerning these payments. This decision does not concern the criminal case regarding possible illegal enrichment, which NABU is investigating. Over the 16 years of Nadala's tenure as mayor, a number of different types of property and criminal episodes accumulated around his name: his family's real estate in the United States amounting to $2,25 million, the father-in-law's apartment in Lviv, use of an expensive car, long-running materials related to municipal land, and a separate proceeding on possible illegal enrichment. At the same time, these episodes have different procedural statuses. Some were subject to checks by the NAPC or court proceedings, land transactions became the subject of a criminal investigation, and the case under the article on illegal enrichment remains with NABU. There is no publicly announced suspicion against Sergiy Nadala in this case. Sergiy Nadala continues to lead Ternopil. He has won the mayoral elections three times as a candidate from the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda. Before joining city government, he worked in the tax service. The accumulated materials around his tenure now cover simultaneously issues of his family’s wealth, officials’ incomes, municipal land, and the activities of anti-corruption bodies.