Family of Judge Mikhail Romanyuk at the centre of corruption scandal

The family of Mikhail Romanyuk, a judge at the Lviv Regional Court of Appeal, has found itself at the epicentre of a high-profile journalistic investigation into the illegal acquisition of municipal property in the centre of Lviv. 

The subject of the investigation is the Villa of Architect Müller – a historic building constructed in the early 20th century that previously belonged to the National University "Lviv Polytechnic". The property, valued at 54 million hryvnia, is currently owned by the Romanyuk family.

How it all began

According to journalists from the "StopKor" project, the process of alienating the building began as early as 2013. The Lviv City Council decided to lease the villa to the "Mission of Goodness" charitable foundation, which investigators suspect may have been a sham. The foundation’s head, Ihor Tyimo, soon filed an application to privatise the building at a significantly undervalued price – just 7 million hryvnia. Despite the obvious disadvantage of the deal for the city, the authorities gave their consent.

Just a month later, Tyimo took out a loan of 7.2 million hryvnia from the wife of Judge Mikhail Romanyuk – Yelena Romanyuk – offering the villa itself as collateral. He never repaid the debt, which resulted in the property being transferred to the ownership of the judge’s family.

Financial schemes and land manipulation

In 2016, another dubious financial manoeuvre was carried out. The judge’s father, 83-year-old Feodosiy Romanyuk, suddenly "gifted" his son 7.5 million hryvnia, despite official data indicating that his income over the previous 17 years had not exceeded 600,000 hryvnia. According to the journalists, these funds were used to purchase the land plot under the villa.

Notably, the Romanyuk family received a 15-are land plot for free by a decision of the Lviv City Council. City Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, according to investigators, approved this deal, after which the plot was divided, then recombined, and its designated use was changed. As a result, the villa and the land, whose value today exceeds 54 million hryvnia, fully passed into the private ownership of the judge’s family.

Property inconsistent with official income

Journalists discovered other interesting details. Feodosiy Romanyuk, in addition to the scandalous villa, owns another large house of 260 square metres in the suburbs of Lviv. It has also emerged that another son of Mikhail Romanyuk – Viktor, who, like his father, is a judge – lives in this house. This information adds grounds to assume that the judge’s family owns significant assets the origin of which does not correspond to their official income.

Appeal to anti-corruption bodies and possible sanctions

Regarding the illegal enrichment of the judge’s family, journalists have already filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. In addition, activists intend to appeal to the US Department of Justice with a proposal to include Mikhail Romanyuk and his relatives in a sanctions list for corruption offences.