The SBI exposed criminal organization, that seized lands of strategic importance at the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Station

The SBI employees in cooperation with the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine have exposed and detained leaders and members of the criminal organization, who illegal seized 5 hectares of land, on which there are located hydraulic structures of critical infrastructure of the Kiev Hydroelectric Power Station.

The criminal organization included almost two dozen people involved. Among them there were investors that are well known in the field of luxury housing construction, their assistants, lawyers, architects, land managers, other qualified specialists and other representatives of state bodies. They were acting in the interests of several developers. 8 notifications of suspicion have already been served, the further work continues. 5 persons have been detained.

Taking advantage of the gaps in the legislation concerning legal status of the land plots, through corruption relations in the state authorities, organizers defined them as agricultural land, that allowed allocating those land plots to citizens of Ukraine. Other participants had been searching for «shills» in the social networks, who agreed for money to sign documents about the allocation of land plots to the private ownership. Most of them were students of the capital's educational institutions, who were misled and agreed to the offer due to the difficult financial situation. Later on the executives signed several documents to register the ownership of the land plots on behalf of «shills». Then they «resold» the land to the representatives of well-known developers of the elite real estate in the Kyiv region, who had ordered and financed this illegal scheme.

According to this scheme, during 2020-2021, the organizers and members of the criminal organization seized the state-owned lands, which are classified as water fund lands and located on hydroelectric structures of the strategic Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Station. The total area of these land plots is 5 hectares and their estimated cost is more than 15 million of hryvnas.

The implementation of the criminal scheme was facilitated by the actions of individual officials of the State service of Ukraine for geodesy, cartography and cadastre, who exceeded their official powers by making decisions about the allocation of the land plots.

The actions of members of the criminal organization and other persons involved are qualified under Article 255 (Creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, and participation therein), Article 190 (fraud on an especially large scale), Article 209 (Legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means), and the actions of officials of the State service of Ukraine for geodesy, cartography and cadastre are qualified under Article 365 (Abuse of power or authority by a law enforcement officer) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The sanctions of the Articles provide for imprisonment for up to 12 years with the confiscation of property.

The pre-trial investigation continues.

The procedural guidance is provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General.