NABU: Probe of Former Dpty Prime Minister in Regional Development Ministry corruption case completed
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have completed the investigation into the case of the former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, who previously also held the position of Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, and five other persons on suspicion of abuse of office and receiving illegal benefits.
On Wednesday, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said on its Telegram channel that one of Kyiv’s real estate developers had devised a scheme to illegally obtain a land plot in the capital for the construction of a residential complex.
"To this end, he approached the Minister of Regional Development, who, together with the ministry’s state secretary, the minister’s adviser, and the director of a state-owned enterprise, created the conditions for transferring the plot to that enterprise. The enterprise, in turn, unlawfully concluded investment agreements with a 'favored' construction company," the Bureau said.
Under these agreements, NABU noted, the developer was supposed to transfer to the state a portion of the future apartments in an amount proportional to the value of the land plot.
"In order to reduce this amount to a minimum, the land and the buildings located on it were valued at almost five times less, and the difference between this valuation and the market value exceeded UAH 1 billion. It was precisely this amount of real estate that the state would have failed to receive if the contracts had been carried out," the Bureau said.
However, NABU said that this was prevented by the seizure of the land plot imposed at the request of anti-corruption authorities.
According to the statement, for the successful implementation of the scheme the developer "rewarded" the minister and individuals designated by him with a substantial discount on apartments in already completed residential complexes. With the discount applied, the price per square meter ranged from UAH 1,000 to UAH 8,000, compared with a minimum market price of about UAH 30,000 per square meter.
"Thus, the minister received an unlawful benefit in the form of discounts totaling more than UAH 14.5 million," the Bureau concluded.
At the request of NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, most of the illegally obtained apartments have been seized.
The statement does not name the suspect, but based on the facts of the case it appears to concern former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov.
Chernyshov is also implicated in the "Midas" corruption case in the energy sector, where he is suspected of illicit enrichment. Bail in the amount of UAH 51 million has been posted for him.
