State land in private hands: BES claims millions of budget losses in Volyn region
19 December 17:58
The Bureau of Economic Security announced that it had uncovered a scheme to illegally transfer almost a thousand hectares of state land in Volyn region to a private company. According to investigators, the state could have lost more than UAH 8 million. This was reported by the press service of the bureau, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What is known
According to the BES, it is about nine state-owned land plots that were under the jurisdiction of an experimental agricultural enterprise in the Lutsk district. Investigators found that officials of this enterprise agreed with the head of a private company and actually transferred the land to the business without any legal grounds or proper documents.
According to the BES, the private company sowed the land with corn and made a profit from it, while the state did not receive any revenue. This, according to the investigation, led to multimillion-dollar budget losses.
Who was notified of suspicion
As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers served suspicion notices to three individuals: the director of a private enterprise, the former acting head of a state-owned enterprise, and the acting head of the farm. The BES does not specify which articles of the Criminal Code the suspects are charged with, but it is allegedly crimes in the field of official activity and the use of state property.
The BES emphasizes that the investigation into the illegal use of state land in Volyn is ongoing, and the final legal assessment of the suspects’ actions must be made by the court.
