On June 13, 2025, the HACC imposed an interim measure on Maksym Horbatiuk, who is suspected of aiding the illegal transfer of land in Kyiv for development purposes. The court ruled to hold him in custody with an alternative of UAH 25 million bail. If bail is posted, he will be subject to several restrictions, including surrendering his international passport and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.
The prosecutor stated that Horbatiuk currently serves as Commercial Affairs Director at Ukrgasvydobuvannya PJSC and had previously worked as an advisor to Minister Oleksii Chernyshov on a voluntary basis. According to the prosecutor, Chernyshov delegated communication with other individuals involved in the case to Horbatiuk for secrecy purposes. Recorded conversations between Chernyshov, Kopystyra, and Horbatiuk also point to discussions of the alleged crime.
The prosecutor emphasized the existence of all five procedural risks, including flight risk, noting that Horbatiuk was detained the night before near a border checkpoint in Lviv region. She requested detention with an alternative bail amount of UAH 50 million.
The defense argued the suspicion was unfounded, stating that Horbatiuk was not an employee of the ministry and was unaware of Kopystyra’s illegal scheme. The lawyer also contended that the detention was unlawful and that Horbatiuk was near the checkpoint as he was traveling to Warsaw on a business trip.
Additionally, today the court began considering motions for interim measures for Vasyl Volodin and Alla Sushon. The prosecutor mentioned that authorities are currently searching for another individual who received a notice of suspicion yesterday.
Investigators believe that Serhii Kopystyra, together with top officials of the Ministry, implemented a scheme to illegally acquire land in Kyiv for a residential development. The value of the land was artificially reduced nearly fivefold, which may have caused over UAH 1 billion in losses to the state.