Ukrainian court sentences Yanukovych in absentia to 15 years for seizure of Sukholuchchia lands

The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has found former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych guilty of illegally seizing lands in Sukholuchchia, Kyiv region, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

"On January 20, 2026, a panel of HACC judges announced a guilty verdict against the former President of Ukraine. By the court's verdict, the ex-president was found guilty of unlawfully seizing a forest fund land plot located within the territory of the Sukholuchchia Village Council in Kyiv region, with an area of 17.5 hectares and an estimated value of more than UAH 22 million, that is, of committing a crime предусмотренного Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment," the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.

According to the statement, an accomplice of the former president was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 5 of Article 27 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the same time, the court released this person from serving the sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal liability.

"The court verdict enters into legal force thirty days from the date of its announcement if it is not appealed," SAPO said.

The anti-corruption prosecutor's office recalls that in 2007 the former president (who at the time of the crime was prime minister), with the aim of seizing state property, namely, a forest fund land plot of the Dnipro-Teteriv Forestry and Hunting Enterprise located within the territory of the Sukholuchchia Village Council of Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region, initiated the adoption of a series of decisions that led to the withdrawal of the above-mentioned land from state ownership.

"To implement the criminal scheme, the former president's accomplices involved persons close to them, who applied to the Kyiv Regional State Administration for the allocation of land plots of up to 1 hectare, and subsequently for a change in their designated purpose, which later made it possible to transfer the land without hindrance to a company controlled by the former president," the statement said.

Subsequently, in 2009–2011, a hotel and restaurant complex was built on this site, which was used by the ex-president for personal needs.

The investigation into these facts began in 2014. Until November 2019, the case was investigated by the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office. It was then transferred to SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

"Given that all defendants are on the wanted list, special judicial proceedings (in absentia) were conducted in respect of them," SAPO said.