Fraudsters Seize Apartments of Pensioners and Ukrainians Abroad

Fraudsters Seize Apartments of Pensioners and Ukrainians Abroad AI

An OBOZ.UA investigation (7 Oct 2026) shows fraudsters using forged marriages, fake notarizations and phony powers of attorney to re-register apartments belonging to lone pensioners and Ukrainians living abroad. Buyers are often treated as good-faith purchasers, leaving courts unable to return stolen flats; Kyiv is litigating 185 cases. A useful warning for Kyiv residents: the city department is pursuing 185 suspected cases in court, including a central Pechersk flat on Institutska Street.

OBOZ.UA reviewed roughly 50 criminal proceedings and describes multiple recurring schemes that transfer ownership of apartments after an owner dies or while they are living abroad. Fraudsters obtain information on vulnerable owners, forge documents (marriage certificates, notarizations, powers of attorney) and register or sell flats to nominal buyers.

Because Ukrainian law protects buyers who acquire property in good faith, courts frequently refuse to reverse those transactions even when documents are clearly forged. The article cites specific cases, including a central Kyiv apartment at Institutska 17/5 that was re-registered after the owner’s death and remains in the name of a young nominal owner. Kyiv’s Department of Construction and Housing says it has 185 pending court cases related to unclaimed or unlawfully taken housing.

OBOZ.UA notes prosecutors have opened fraud investigations in several instances, but civil rulings have often left recovered real estate out of municipal reach.

Know what Kyiv knows.