On 2 July 2025, the HACC rejected the prosecutor’s motion to suspend Oleksii Chernyshov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for National Unity of Ukraine, from office. Chernyshov is suspected of abuse of office and receiving unlawful benefits.
At the hearing, an NABU detective stated that Chernyshov, due to his position, could destroy or distort evidence, obstruct the investigation, and influence witnesses. According to the detective, Chernyshov also used his official duties as a pretext to avoid appearing in court when his interim measure was being considered.
Chernyshov’s defense argued that suspending him would violate his right to work. Furthermore, his lawyers claimed there was no clear evidence of how he could obstruct the investigation in practice. In their view, the interim measure already imposed on him sufficiently mitigates any potential risks.
According to investigators, developer Serhii Kopystyra, together with top officials of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, implemented a scheme to illegally acquire land in Kyiv for a residential development. Kopystyra allegedly involved in the scheme then minister Oleksii Chernyshov, who was supposed to help the controlled state-owned enterprise transfer the land to a construction company, and give the state the part of the built apartments in return. To reduce that share, the value of the land was artificially reduced nearly fivefold, which may have caused over UAH 1 billion in losses to the state.