Former head of the State Geocadastre department to be tried in Bukovina for illegal land distribution
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have completed a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings against the former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in Chernivtsi region. He is accused of abuse of office, which resulted in losses to the state of over 3.5 million hryvnias. The indictment based on the results of the investigation has already been referred to the court.
According to the materials of the pre-trial investigation, in 2020–2021, the official signed a number of orders by which he illegally transferred land plots located in the city of Chernivtsi (area 0.3 hectares) and the village of Zdoburiv, Zastavnivskyi district (area 2.4 hectares) into private ownership. Formally, these lands were allegedly transferred for personal farming, although in fact they belonged to territorial communities and were not subject to privatization.
According to the conclusion of the judicial land valuation examination, the illegal transfer of 2.7 hectares of land to private ownership caused the state losses in the amount of about 3.5 million hryvnias. During the investigation, it was established that the official personally supervised the process of preparing and approving documents, and also insisted on accelerating their registration.
The issue of returning land plots to the ownership of territorial communities will be resolved in court. In order to ensure compensation for damages, the court imposed an arrest on the defendant’s property – in particular, an apartment, non-residential premises in Ivano-Frankivsk and a car.
The former official is charged with a crime under Part Two of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of official position, which resulted in grave consequences. By court decision, he was removed from his position.
If found guilty, he faces a sentence of imprisonment for a term of up to six years. The procedural management of the criminal proceedings was carried out by the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
