American missionary says he lost $400,000 and a house for charitable projects in Kyiv due to fraud

American missionary and philanthropist Kim Kio Yok, who has worked in Ukraine for more than 30 years, has reported a probable fraud in the purchase of a house in Kyiv for the activities of the charitable foundation and church “Blahodat,” as a result of which the organization lost the ability to provide full assistance to internally displaced persons, pensioners and other vulnerable groups of the population.

As reported during a press conference at the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” by Oleksandr Keer, managing partner of the law firm Revealing Information, in 2022 Kim Kio Yok agreed to purchase a building in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, but instead of the main purchase and sale agreement, an agreement of intent to conclude such an agreement was signed. According to the lawyer, at the time of the deal the property was pledged because of the debts of the previous owner’s family, and the initial payment was $30,000.

“In 2022, $30,000 was transferred as a deposit and confirmation of the seriousness of the intention to purchase this property. From 2022 to the present, the amount of funds received has grown from $30,000 to $400,000; in fact, 21 agreements were concluded to postpone the deadlines for concluding the main purchase and sale agreement. The last two supplementary agreements were concluded at a time when the party did not even have the ability to sell the property, because it did not own it,” – Keer said at the press conference at the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” on Wednesday.

According to him, because of the unpaid earlier obligations of the person who was to sell the house, ownership of the property passed to creditors, so it became impossible to fulfil the initial agreements. At the same time, as the lawyer asserts, Kim Kio Yok in fact handed over almost the entire agreed value of the property but did not receive it into ownership.

Keer said that after the philanthropist approached them, the lawyers first tried to settle the situation through negotiations and mediation, but it proved impossible to reach agreement with the other party. After that, appeals to the police and the prosecutor’s office were prepared, as well as civil lawsuits concerning the disputed contracts and the return of funds.

“When Mr. Kim approached us, the first thing we proposed was to hold negotiations and mediation in order to clarify the circumstances and try to reach agreement. To our repeated attempts to arrange such a meeting, we were told there were no grounds or purpose for it. After that, we prepared complaints to the police and the prosecutor’s office, as well as civil lawsuits for the return of funds,” – he added.

Keer noted that, in the assessment of the injured party’s side, the case has judicial prospects, since the transfer of funds and the changes to the agreements were documented in signed agreements. He also said that for some time the philanthropist in fact used the building, invested funds in improving it and purchased equipment, but now, according to his representatives, has no access to this property.

He noted that the prosecutor’s office of the Darnytskyi district has opened criminal proceedings and a pre-trial investigation is under way. The lawyer also gave a positive assessment of the court’s prompt response to the appeals of the injured party’s representatives, but noted that since May the case has not yet ended with a notice of suspicion or the referral of an indictment to court.

For his part, Kim Kio Yok said that he came to Ukraine from California 33 years ago and during that time has been involved in religious, educational and charitable projects. After the start of the full-scale war, together with like-minded people he helped those whose housing had been damaged, handed out food packages and firewood, and also organized free meals in Kyiv for internally displaced persons.

“We helped Ukrainians who suffered greatly during the full-scale war: we found damaged homes, helped rebuild them, and provided people with food parcels and firewood so that they could get through the winter. In the building in the Darnytskyi district, we fed hot lunches to between 150 and 200 internally displaced persons. Because of this situation, in recent months people have been unable to receive the help we provided before,” said Kim Kio Yok.

Kim Kio Yok (Kim Kio Yok), American missionary and philanthropist, a victim in a criminal case 

The missionary said that, as a U.S. citizen, he had sent an official letter to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and to the American consul.

We sent an official letter to the U.S. Embassy. They responded and are showing interest in this case because I am a U.S. citizen. I also approached the U.S. consul with a request to help me in this situation,” Kim Kio Yok said.

According to him, people who used to receive assistance regularly keep calling representatives of the organization and asking when the free lunches and other programs will be resumed. The missionary stressed that he intends to stay in Ukraine and continue his charitable work.

Kim Kio Yok noted that the organization operates not only in Kyiv: over the 33 years of its work, centers were established in various cities of Ukraine, including rehabilitation programs for people with drug and alcohol addiction. It also runs the “Blahodat” gymnasium, with a kindergarten and instruction up to 11th grade, and the building purchased in Kyiv was planned to be used, among other things, for educational projects.

“I am 75 years old now, and I want to help Ukrainians and serve them with love even during the war. We are appealing to law enforcement, the police, and the prosecutor’s office: help us so that we can work again on the territory of Ukraine. We have dedicated our lives to serving Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he said.

For her part, Viktoriia Khliebnikova, a volunteer of the charitable foundation, noted that the consequences of the conflict over the building affect not only the foundation itself, since professional kitchen equipment remains in the premises, purchased specifically for providing free meals to people.

“This story is very painful for us, because it is not about a house, equipment, or money. The most painful thing is that we cannot help people to the full extent, as we did before. The professional equipment was not bought for business or for making a profit – it was purchased for charitable work, to feed people,” Khliebnikova said.

She noted that during mass power outages such lunches were of particular importance to people who could not cook food at home. At the moment, according to her, the team is seeking to gain access to its property and resume its work.

“People are waiting, they meet me on the street and ask every time when we will start helping again. We want to return to normal work, to cook lunches, to help elderly people, children, and families who have lost their defenders at the front.,” the volunteer added.

For his part, Kim Shine, a pastor and vice president of the international mission Grace, who joined the press conference from the U.S., said that the American organization had financially supported the activities of Kim Kio Yok and his family in Ukraine and had helped with the purchase of the premises. According to him, after the start of the full-scale war the mission offered the missionaries the option of returning to the U.S. for safety reasons, but they decided to stay.

“When they told us they had found a building where elderly people could be supported and food could be prepared for displaced persons, we decided to help financially with its purchase. Now we are appealing to the Ukrainian authorities so that this matter is resolved lawfully and the work can continue,” Kim Shine stressed.