The Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Service is investigating the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky for corruption for the illegal acquisition of state land worth about 7 million dollars, Ukrainian media reported, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The minister and his department refused to comment to Reuters on the case. Solski was appointed to the post in March 2022.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has brought charges against participants in a corruption scheme led by an acting minister, as a result of which the official appropriated state land with a total area of 2,493 hectares, TASS reported.
Solski's name is not specifically mentioned, but the announcement states that he is a former chairman of the agrarian commission in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament). Solsky held this post before becoming the Minister of Agrarian Policy in March 2022, reports the Ukrainian newspaper "Strana", quoted by TASS.
"The former chairman of the agrarian commission of the Verkhovna Rada and current minister has been exposed for misappropriating state land worth 291 million hryvnias ($7.3 million) and attempting to embezzle land worth another 190 million hryvnias (4.8 million dollars)", NABU reported on its channel in "Telegram". Charges have now been brought against the minister and other participants in the criminal scheme."
It is noted that in the period 2017-2021, employees of the state cadastre (Derzhgeocadastre) and persons who controlled their activities also participated in the criminal group. The participants in the scheme ensured the destruction of documents based on which two state-owned enterprises had the right to permanent use of land in the Sumy region, after which the state cadastre transferred the plots of land to the ownership of pre-determined persons with the condition that the land would be leased to private agricultural holding.
According to the "Country" Solsky was a business partner of the former head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Bohdan.
If the charges are confirmed, Solsky will be the first minister in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government to be named as a suspect in a corruption case, Reuters notes.