New attack on transparency: why deputies closed registries for all Ukrainians
27 August 13:25
ANALYSIS
People’s deputies have closed access of mere mortals to data from registers on the location of immovable property and land plots owned by enterprises, as well as information on intellectual property objects in order to improve the security of defense enterprises. But instead of restricting access exclusively to defense enterprises, it was closed to everyone without exception. Anti-corruption activists have already sounded the alarm, because now it will be simply impossible to trace who among officials, civil servants, deputies or their relatives owns what. But these restrictions will create a lot of inconveniences for ordinary citizens as well – what kind of inconveniences, "Komersant Ukrainian" found out.
Information about the objects of the defense-industrial complex (DIC) is easily accessible in the state open registers, according to the explanatory note to the bill № 11533, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada as a whole on August 21. The Unified State Register specifies the types of activities and addresses of defense enterprises, which allows the enemy to quickly track the emergence of new entities and changes in their activities. Also open data in the register of property rights and land cadastre, which provides access to information about real estate and land plots used in the defense industry. A similar situation is with the registers of intellectual property objects (inventions, models, etc.).
“This makes the objects of the DIC vulnerable, makes it easier for the enemy to choose targets for attacks and creates critical risks for national security. Despite partial measures to limit access to information (for example, disabling the Public Cadastral Map), the enemy can continue to obtain the necessary information from other open sources. As a result – losses, destruction, human casualties, limitation of the work of defense industry enterprises and reduction of Ukraine’s defense capability”,
– is stated in the explanatory note to the bill.
As if to solve this problem, the bill was developed to ensure the protection of data on defense enterprises, while preserving the functionality of registers and minimizing restrictions for bona fide users.
All under one umbrella
The deputies voted in favor, despite the fact that the draft has been in place since 2024 and did not take into account the conclusions of experts, who directly pointed out: according to the explanatory note, the purpose of the bill is “to improve the security of defense enterprises,” but its provisions apply to all legal entities, not just defense enterprises. Therefore, the content of the draft does not correspond to the stated goal.
Moreover, the draft law restricts the right of access to information on registered rights to real estate for owners of such property, purchasers, and heirs. In other words, it narrows the range of possible real estate transactions and limits the rights of certain categories of owners – in particular, the right to receive compensation for destroyed real estate. After all, according to part 4 of Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Compensation for Damage and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate Objects as a Result of Military Operations, Terrorist Acts, Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine”, it is stipulated that the application for compensation for the destroyed object shall be accompanied by a copy of the document confirming the ownership right to the object, except for cases when the right is registered in the State Register of Rights to Real Estate.
In addition, the right to open a certain procedural dispute is limited, because according to part 5 of article 12 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Rights to Immovable Property and their Encumbrances” information about rights in rem and their encumbrances, entered in the State Register of Rights, are considered reliable and can be used in a dispute with third parties until the state registration of termination of such rights or encumbrances.
Also, these restrictions apply to the registered rights to all real estate, not only to that concerning defense enterprises, while the purpose of the project is defined as “improving the security of defense enterprises’ activities.”
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Relief for corrupt officials
No one listened to the experts’ conclusions, nothing was changed – and now all these risks await ordinary citizens. As rightly noted in the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC), these norms will significantly complicate the work of journalists in exposing real estate frauds, in particular – corrupt.
“The bill will also affect ordinary citizens. If you suddenly want to buy real estate from the developer – to find out before buying, whether it really belongs to this legal entity, it will be difficult. But this law will make life easier for corrupt officials who hide their income through controlled firms, and may increase the number of frauds in the real estate industry,” said the CPC,
– noted in the CPC.
Journalists, of course, will find a way out – you can ask a familiar notary or registrar to provide the necessary information. But there are no guarantees that these restrictions will really protect the DIC objects. Unfortunately, there are many other ways to identify the object – by photos, movements of certain persons or through informants.
What was yours is now ours
But the number of frauds and seizures of private (and not only) property will increase significantly. According to lawyer Valeria Snigir, after the adoption of this bill, the country is waiting for “fun times”. Raider seizures of enterprises and land with the help of forged sale and purchase agreements, donations, leases, falsification of cadastral numbers and changes to the state register, fictitious court decisions or direct physical seizure.
“To prevent your property from falling into the wrong hands, it is important to regularly check the founding documents and data in the registers. Keep track of changes in the state registers of property rights. During transactions, it is necessary to check the reliability of partners and the history of their activities – and this information should also be taken from the registers. That is, it is necessary to constantly check the state of property rights, but when access is restricted – there will be problems with this. Meanwhile, unscrupulous registrars and notaries can slowly do with your property whatever they are told – or rather, what they are paid for”,
– says Valeria Snigir.
Summarizing, we can say with certainty that this is a very ill-conceived bill, which will only increase the number of frauds, which will then have to be long and painfully unraveled. After all, litigation on such cases can last for years. It is easy to take away, very difficult to get back.
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Alla Dunina
