In Kherson region, 50 hectares of state land ended up in the mother-in-law of a StateGeoCadastre official

The former deputy head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in Kherson region is suspected of organizing a scheme to illegally withdraw 50 hectares of agricultural land from state ownership in Skadovsk district.

This was reported by the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, in the summer of 2019, the official, using access to the State Land Cadastre and his official powers, organized the registration of 25 two-hectare plots of land for front persons. To do this, his accomplice found 25 local residents who agreed to apply for free land in exchange for a thousand hryvnias.

Law enforcement officers also claim that the applicants did not plan to cultivate the plots. After the registration, they transferred the necessary powers to a trustee who accompanied the further re-registration of the land.

The investigation also found that at the same time, one of the farms was denied the land for agricultural activities.

As a result, all 25 plots with a total area of 50 hectares, located on the territory of the former Mykhailivska village council of Skadovsk district, became the property of the official's mother-in-law. According to the investigation, the documents indicated a much lower price for the transactions. The land was sold for 560,000 hryvnias, although a forensic examination estimated its market value at 3.32 million hryvnias.

The prosecutor's office believes that due to these actions, the state lost land on a particularly large scale and suffered significant losses.

The former official was served a notice of suspicion under the article on abuse of power or position committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. The sanction of the article provides for up to six years in prison.

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