The mayor and the head of a district council in Transcarpathian Region have been caught selling land at low prices. LB.ua's law enforcement sources said that these were the mayor of Mukachevo, Andriy Baloha, and the head of the Mukachevo District Council, Mykhaylo Lanyo.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the mayor "pushed through" the decision to sell a three-hectare plot of land at a price that was almost nine times lower than the actual value to a private company whose actual controller is the head of the district council, a former MP. LB.ua's sources said that it was the Avangard stadium in Mukachevo.
The basis for the decision was an expert monetary assessment with an understated value of the land plot, for which the owners of the appraiser company were bribed.
"As a result of such transactions, the land with a market value of UAH 84.6 million was sold for only UAH 9.6 million," the NABU said.
Despite such a meagre price, the mayor personally granted the company a six-month payment extension.
"The organiser of the scheme is the head of the district council, who is an influential authority in the criminal environment of the region. In the past, he was twice elected as an MP, including from the now banned Party of Regions," the SBU said.
Among the suspects:
- mayor of the city
- the head of the district council
- the former head of the municipal property and land relations department of the city council
- two owners of the appraisal company
- an appraiser
"Currently, the SBU and NABU officers have detained the mayor, the head of the district council, and the former head of the municipal property and land relations department of the city council," the Security Service said.
They are being served notices of suspicion under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Art. 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps)
- Art. 364 (abuse of power or position)
- Art. 368-4 (bribery of a person providing public services).
- Andriy Baloha has been the head of Mukachevo since 2015. He is the son of the current MP Viktor Baloha (For the Future).