NABU accuses Agriculture Minister and several other officials of land embezzlement
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi is suspected of leading a criminal group of State Geocadastre officials and so-called “curators” who controlled their activities and were involved in the illegal seizure of state land worth hundreds of millions, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported on Telegram on April 23.
The scheme involved the destruction of documents that allowed two state-owned enterprises in Sumy Oblast to permanently use land.
The regional State Geocadastre then documented the unauthorized occupation of the land plots and later transferred them to pre-selected individuals under the pretext of exercising their right to free land on condition that they sign a lease agreement with a private agricultural enterprise.
NABU’s investigation revealed that the scheme resulted in the illegal acquisition of 1,250 land plots valued at over UAH 291 million ($7.3 million). In addition, attempts to confiscate 3,282 hectares of land worth approximately UAH 190 million ($3.8 million) were prevented by NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which conducted searches and confiscated the land.
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The organizer of the scheme, the Minister, two supervisors of the State Geocadastre, and an accomplice have been served with suspicion notices, as well as other participants.
The Agricultural Ministry has not yet responded to the charges.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
