Kherson region exposes scheme with imitation of demining

In Kherson region, a court has passed a verdict in a case of fictitious demining of agricultural land, which resulted in the payment of more than UAH 4.4 million from the budget.

As reported by Anti-Corruption Dimension, the case concerns plots of more than 71 hectares in the Vysokopilska community, which were leased by farmer Serhiy Kvitko. As the Velyko Oleksandrivskyi District Court found, back in 2023, these lands were demined by the SES units, and in 2025 they were already sown.

Nevertheless, in April 2025, the farmer filed an application through the State Agrarian Register to confirm the demining. At the same time, the state center announced a tender for almost UAH 5 million. The winner was a private company that agreed to perform the work for UAH 4.43 million.

The investigation found that no actual demining was carried out. Instead, the workers only imitated the activity - they were near the fields, setting up markers and creating the appearance of work.

The key element of the scheme was a certificate of completion, which was to be signed by the land tenant. According to the court, the farmer knew that the demining had already been carried out and that no further work was needed, but he agreed to sign documents with false information.

In August 2025, the act was signed by all participants, after which it was approved, which became the basis for transferring funds to the contractor.

The materials on the organizers of the scheme - representatives of the contractor and the customer - were separated into a separate proceeding. Instead, the farmer was involved in the case as an accomplice in entering false information into official documents.

The defendant pleaded guilty and entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office.

The court sentenced him to two years in prison, but released him from serving the sentence with a probationary period of two years. The farmer was also banned from engaging in humanitarian demining for a year and fined UAH 8,500.

Андрій Колісніченко