A major scandal involving unfinished residential developments has erupted in Chernihiv, centered on former city council member from the «Servant of the People» party and ex-head of the land commission, Yuriy Tarasovets. The developer company, «Osnova-Bud-7» LLC, is demanding that investors who paid in full for their apartments back in 2020 sign new notarized agreements requiring an additional payment of nearly 13,000 UAH per square meter. The total amount of frozen funds belonging to buyers across four separate construction sites stands at approximately $26 million, with victims including the family of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action on the front lines.
The ongoing delay affects four residential complexes: the Ivana Mazepy Street project, «Oleksandrivskyi,» «Na Masanakha,» and KyivSky. Homebuyers report that the properties were slated for commissioning prior to the full-scale invasion. Despite this, construction sites have remained inactive for an extended period, while completion deadlines continue to be pushed back.
In the autumn of 2025, the developer issued an ultimatum: buyers must pay an extra ~13,000 UAH/m² upon property handover, adding roughly 650,000 UAH to the price of an average 50-square-meter apartment. Fearing the complete loss of their original investments, a majority of buyers agreed to the new terms; however, construction activity on the sites has yet to resume.
«They take money from one project and transfer it to another,» stated Valentina Zavgorodnya, an investor in the Ivana Mazepy Street building.
The situation surrounding investor Maksym Tovkun generated particular outrage. Having paid for his apartment in full, Tovkun joined the military after 2022 and was killed in action. When his surviving family approached the company to finalize the paperwork, the developer refused, citing the absence of the deceased buyer’s personal signature.
Beyond construction delays, investors in the «Oleksandrivskyi» residential complex discovered that «Osnova-Bud-7» filed a court claim seeking nearly 35 million UAH in compensation for war-related damage. In its court filings, the developer listed damaged windows, utility systems, and insulation. Apartment buyers, however, contend that the structure remained a bare concrete shell with no windows or infrastructure installed long before active hostilities began. The investor initiative group is currently preparing a counterclaim.
According to investors, financial operations related to the developments are routed through the family-owned «Polikombank,» where shares are held by the developer’s father, Mykola Tarasovets, and his sons. The National Bank of Ukraine had previously issued warnings to the institution over risky lending practices that funneled municipal deposits into related construction businesses.
Yuriy Tarasovets resigned his city council mandate in 2024 without public explanation, and media reports indicate his family has relocated to the United States. Despite leaving multiple sites unfinished, related business entities continue to advertise new development projects across the city. Investors in the stalled Chernihiv developments are openly drawing parallels to Ukraine’s infamous 2000s real estate fraud, «Elita-Center.»
Law enforcement authorities have refrained from making public statements regarding ongoing investigations into the claims filed by defrauded buyers. Meanwhile, affected citizens insist on receiving the completed housing units they purchased rather than depreciated cash refunds based on 2020 valuation rates.