The current Minister of Agrarian and Food Policy of Ukraine Mykola Solsky is suspected of grabbing state land and attempted takeover of other plots.
“The criminal group, led by the highest official, includes employees of the State Geocadastre bodies and persons controlling the activities of these bodies, the so-called curators,” said a statement from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), quoted by Polish sites Suspilne Noviny and Farmer.pl.
The former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Agricultural Committee and current Minister of Agriculture, Mykola Solsky, is suspected of seizing state lands worth UAH 291 million and attempting to seize new plots of land worth UAH 190 million.
Members of the group are said to have destroyed documents confirming the rights of two state-owned enterprises in the Sumy region for permanent land use. Their absence was the reason for the regional office for land properties to issue decisions for arbitrary confiscation of the land of these companies. In this way, plots of land were taken from legal tenants and handed over to certain persons, under the guise of exercising their right to free land. The condition for acquiring ownership of the land was the conclusion of a lease agreement with a private farm prior to the purchase of the land.
According to NABU, during the years 2017-2021, the participants of the criminal group used such illegal methods to acquire 1,250 plots of land with a total area of 2,493 hectares, the value of which exceeded UAH 291 million. The same people tried to seize another 3,282 hectares of land worth about UAH 190 million, but law enforcement agencies prevented them from doing so. The authorities believe that the case is still developing and do not rule out new arrests.
#Ukrainian #Minister #Agriculture #Solsky #suspected #seizing #state #land
