Prosecutors of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office have sent an indictment to the court regarding the former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Khmelnytskyi region. He is accused of abuse of office and official forgery, committed in conspiracy by a group of individuals (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 364, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation established that in April 2021, the Main Department of the State Geocadastre received applications from 22 citizens for the allocation of land plots for private ownership. In fact, these applications were formal. The accused knew that they were submitted in the interests of two individuals who were trying to obtain state lands free of charge in this manner.

Despite this, the official, acting together with a subordinate – the acting head of the Land Management and Land Protection Department, organized an illegal scheme for the removal of agricultural land from state ownership.

He signed illegal orders granting permissions for the development of land management documentation and the subsequent transfer of land. These decisions were made in gross violation of the requirements of the Land Code of Ukraine, as at that time the State Geocadastre authorities had already lost the relevant powers.

As a result, 22 land plots with a total area of 43 hectares, located outside the settlements of the Borysivka village council in the Shepetivka district, were illegally transferred to private ownership.

To implement the scheme, official documents were prepared and registered with signs of forgery. Subsequently, the ownership of most of the land plots was re-registered to two individuals. These lands were later used, in particular, for economic activities related to the use of subsoil resources.

As a result of the illegal actions, the state suffered damages amounting to over 5.2 million hryvnias, which constitutes serious consequences under criminal law.

Materials regarding the accomplice have been allocated to a separate criminal proceeding in connection with her search.

We remind you that in July of this year, the official was notified of suspicion for the facts of abuse of office and official forgery. 

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the territorial office of the State Bureau of Investigation in Khmelnytskyi.

Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.