Case description
On August 19, 2024, the HACC found Yevhen Sinhayevskyi guilty of aiding and abetting the illegal privatization of land. He was sentenced to three years of probation based on a plea agreement with the investigation.
Yevhen Sinhayevskyi was involved in the criminal activities of an organized group, which consisted of officials of the Main Directorate of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region and other persons. The group wanted to illegally take over state agricultural lands that were used by the State Enterprise Research Farm Dmytrivka".
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The criminals operated between March 2018 and January 2019. Using their positions and powers, members of the group, in particular the head of the state land cadastre department, organized the registration of land plots to controlled persons. After that, using proxies, the group members established control over these lands and began looking for buyers.
According to the investigation, the organiser of the scheme engaged Yevhen Sinhaievskyi, who acted as an accomplice in orchestrating the misappropriation of state-owned agricultural land.
The organised group also included senior officials of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in Kyiv Oblast. Among them were the Head of the Land Cadastre Department, the Head of the Legal Department, the Head of the Fastiv District Office, as well as several other individuals.
The essence of the scheme was to exploit the mechanism of free privatisation of land that was in the possession of the State Enterprise Dmytrivka State Farm. Land plots were registered in the names of individuals under the group’s control. To maintain control over the land, the perpetrators used powers of attorney that allowed them to dispose of the plots.
Sinhaievskyi was responsible for finding potential buyers and arranging agreements for the sale of land plots registered to controlled individuals. In particular, he organised a meeting with representatives of the Agricultural Private Enterprise Agrofirma Svitanok, to whom he offered to sell land plots with a total area of about 1,000 hectares at a price of USD 3,400 per hectare, while also guaranteeing the prompt allocation of additional plots. The representatives of the agricultural enterprise, unaware of the criminal nature of the transactions, agreed to the proposal.
Subsequently, members of the group concluded hundreds of purchase agreements, which were certified by notaries. These agreements formed part of a scheme to legalise property obtained through criminal means. To reduce the tax burden, the land was subjected to a fictitious valuation that significantly understated its market value.
According to the prosecution, the defendants took possession of land plots with an area of almost 920 hectares worth more than UAH 700 million. As a result of the group’s activities, illicit proceeds exceeding USD 3 million were obtained. The criminal scheme encompassed a range of actions, from the misappropriation of land to its sale, legalisation through notarised agreements and the use of controlled entities.
Yevhen Sinhaievskyi was charged under Part 5 of Article 27 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced to three years of probation. The defendant transferred UAH 5 million in bail to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and undertook to contribute an additional UAH 7.5 million for the army’s needs.
Sinhayevskyi acted as an accomplice. He was engaged in the preparation of documents for the registration of land plots to fictitious owners, as well as in the search for buyers for the further sale of these lands. Sinhayevskyi also organized meetings with potential buyers, during which the terms of land sales and the amount of bribes were discussed.
Yevhen Sinhayevskyi was indicted under Art. 27(5) and Art. 209(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He concluded a plea agreement and was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
