KCSA deputy head served with charges after illegal construction in Kyiv park area
On Nov. 2, 2023, NABU and SAPO notified the current deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration of suspicion of abusing his official position, which led to the illegal allocation of part of the natural reserve fund (Nyvky Park) for construction. As a result, it caused about UAH 6.4 million in losses to the territorial community.
The actions of the suspect fall under Part 2 Art. 28 and Part 2 Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, in November 2019, the suspect, being the director of the Department of Land Resources of the KCSA, was considering a land management project that stipulated construction of a residential and office complex on the territory of the park. Under the project, a land plot in the eastern part of the park was to be excluded from the natural reserve fund and leased to a private construction company. It's worth noting that in July 2019, the same project was rejected by the department over the land plot being part of the natural reserve fund. However, the official ignored that fact and submitted a resolution draft along with an explanatory note for consideration by the deputies of the Kyiv City Council. To ensure a guaranteed vote for the land management project, the official stated in the explanatory note that the land plot did not belong to the nature reserve fund. This was a lie and contradicted the information in the city's land cadastral database, which was under the department control.
As a result, the company received the 0.6-hectare part of the park for construction, and the Kyiv community lost the right to use it as a nature reserve.
The pre-trial investigation body's position is also confirmed by the ruling of the Northern Appellate Commercial Court, which rendered the city council's resolution illegal and the lease agreement void.
At present, the construction in the park area has been halted.
NABU has also sent a letter to the Kyiv City Council, demanding a review of the resolution that enacted the criminal land management project.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.