In the United States and Ukraine, extensive investigations into corruption abuses are ongoing, which could have caused the state to lose billions of hryvnias
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) recently announced suspicions against several high-ranking officials, including individuals closely associated with former Minister of Regional Development Oleksii Chernyshov. These actions represent a significant step in the fight against widespread corruption in the public sector, particularly in construction and land resource management. According to official information, law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies uncovered a scheme of corrupt dealings that could have resulted in losses to the state exceeding 1 billion hryvnias. During investigations on June 12 and 13, five high-ranking officials were notified of suspicion. Specifically, these include former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development Vasyl Volodin, former adviser to Minister Maksym Horbatiuk, and former head of the state enterprise "Ukrkomunobsluzhuvannya" Alla Sushon. At the same time, the investigation established the involvement of developers and their trusted associates in illegal land development schemes in Kyiv, which could have more than tripled the actual value of the land plot, thereby causing losses to the state of over a billion hryvnias. According to the investigation, this scheme began during Chernyshov’s tenure as the former Minister of Regional Development. It involved officials, including Ministry officials, facilitating the transfer of a land parcel over 11 hectares in Kyiv to the management of a state enterprise without proper legal grounds. A mechanism was created that involved issuing permits for significant economic obligations and signing investment agreements with developers. It was supposed that a portion of the future apartments would remain under state management; however, in reality, this amount was significantly reduced by undervaluing the land and its structures nearly fivefold. This led to the state losing more than 1 billion hryvnias in potential property sales based on market value. The scheme involved not only officials but also developers who obtained unlawful benefits in the form of discounts on apartments in residential complexes in Kyiv. The cost per square meter in such apartments decreased to 1,000–8,000 hryvnias, compared to an approximate market price of 30,000 hryvnias. The total value of unlawfully obtained benefits is estimated at 16.8 million hryvnias. Additionally, according to the investigation, the director of the state enterprise entered into agreements with developers allowing them to acquire some apartments at reduced prices, further complicating the scope of the schemes. An important aspect of the investigation was a series of searches, including in the apartment of the spouse of one of the defendants—Vadym Marchuk, a official who supervised Chernyshov from 2021 to 2023. Documents and data from law enforcement agencies revealed that Marchuk resides in this apartment, and the searches aimed to confirm connections between high-ranking officials and criminal schemes. It is worth noting that Oleksii Chernyshov is currently on an official business trip abroad, and his direct involvement in the corruption schemes has not yet been confirmed. At the same time, Naftogaz of Ukraine and other government agencies have officially denied any connection between the ongoing investigative actions and the work of the mentioned officials within the Naftogaz group of companies. Company representatives assured that the investigation pertains to past positions held by those individuals and is not directly related to their current professional activities. The investigation is still ongoing, with law enforcement and prosecutors preparing new suspicions and planning to continue fighting corruption even at the highest levels of power. It is important to highlight that for the first time in many years, such extensive and in-depth investigations are being carried out in our country with maximum transparency and openness, giving hope for justice and a reduction of corruption levels throughout the state.