Case description
NABU and SAPO suspect 12 individuals of the misappropriation of more than 1,200 hectares of land near Kyiv, causing losses to the state exceeding UAH 1.8 billion.
The case concerns approximately 920 hectares of land in the city of Fastiv and nearly 284 hectares within the territory of the state enterprise Pushcha-Vodytsia near Kyiv, with a total market value at the time estimated at approximately UAH 1.8 billion.
According to the investigation, the land was misappropriated by an organised criminal group that included former Heads of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in Kyiv Oblast — Oleh Levchenko, Dmytro Babak, Liudmyla Prykhodko, and Iryna Stepanenko — as well as the former Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in Kyiv Oblast, Olha Didkivska, the former Head of a Department at the State Enterprise Research and Design Institute of Land Management, Dmytro Satskyi, and others.
The investigation identified two principal episodes of criminal activity related to the misappropriation of these land plots. In particular, it was established that the organiser of the scheme, having influence over employees of the Main Department of the State Land Cadastre in the Kyiv region and using his extensive connections among high-ranking officials in various fields, developed a comprehensive scheme for the acquisition of state-owned agricultural land that was in permanent use by state-owned enterprises in the Kyiv region.
To execute this plan, he engaged several accomplices who identified participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) entitled to free land plots and used their names to formalise ownership rights to the land. The perpetrators used a mechanism of free privatisation of land plots registered to persons under their control. After obtaining ownership of these lands, the group established control over them, using powers of attorney to dispose of the plots. Then, on the basis of fictitious land purchase and sale agreements at significantly reduced prices, they resold them to third parties, in particular to representatives of agricultural companies. To minimise tax payments, they used appraisal companies they controlled, which deliberately underestimated the value of the land.
The actions of the suspects have been classified under Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Additionally, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has already approved a plea agreement with an accomplice — former adviser to the Head of the State Land Agency, Yevhen Sinhaievskyi.
The suspect, Prykhodko, who was initially wanted, was later extradited from Germany to Ukraine.
