Agriculture minister tenders his resignation
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Myloka Solskyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, who is suspected of illegal transactions involving land worth UAH 500 million (approx. US$12.5 million), has resigned.
Source: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament), on Facebook
Stefanchuk said the resignation would be considered at an upcoming plenary session.
"Yes, I have tendered my resignation as minister. Given the situation, I think it is the right thing to do. If the Verkhovna Rada decides to accept my resignation, I will be grateful for that decision. If they decide that I should continue working, I’ll continue to work," Solskyi said.
Background:
Mykola Solskyi formerly chaired the Verkhovna Rada’s Agrarian Committee and is the current Minister of Agrarian Policy. He was exposed for appropriating state land worth UAH 291 million (US$7.29 million) and attempting to seize land worth UAH 190 million (US$4.76 million).
In addition to Solskyi, his deputy, Markiian Dmytrasevych, has also been served with a notice of suspicion in respect of the land transactions. Dmytrasevych is on an official trip abroad in connection with the start of Ukraine's EU membership negotiations in the agriculture section.
Ekomomichna Pravda has information from a source close to Solskyi that he is being held as a suspect with regard to events that took place in 2017-2018, when he was practising as a lawyer.
Solskyi commented on the notice of suspicion served by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau to confirm that the case against him does relate to the period 2017-2018.
It was reported that the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office will request that Solskyi should be remanded in custody with an option of UAH 200 million (US$5 million) bail.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has met to select a pre-trial restriction for Solskyi. The judge will announce the decision at 08:00 on 26 April.
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