Mukachevo mayor Baloha and head of Mukachevo district council Lania were detained over corruption scheme to sell "Avangard" stadium - journalist Hlahola. VIDEO&PHOTOS
The mayor of Mukachevo, Andriy Baloha, and the head of the Mukachevo District Council, Mykhailo Lania, nicknamed 'Blyuk', were detained by the SSU and NABU.
This was written by journalist Vitaliy Glagola in his Telegram channel, Censor.NET reports.
Corrupt scheme for the sale of the Avangard stadium
According to him, the detention is related to a corrupt scheme to sell the Avangard stadium in Mukachevo.
"The amount of losses from the sale of the stadium and almost 3 hectares of land is approximately UAH 100 million," the statement said.
In October 2023, the SSU and NABU had already conducted searches of the defendants in the criminal proceedings, but no officials were detained.
The head of the land department of the Mukachevo City Council, Artur Samilyak, was also detained.
What does NABU say?
Later, the NABU noted that the mayor and the head of the district council were exposed for selling 3 hectares of land in Zakarpattia for nothing.
"The mayor 'pushed through' the decision to sell the land at a price that was almost 9 times lower than the actual price to a private company, whose actual controller is the chairman of the district council, a former MP.
The basis for this was an expert monetary valuation of the land plot with an understated value, 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 paltry price, the mayor personally granted the company a 6-month payment extension.
Who is among the suspects?
Among the suspects:
- the 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;
- the appraiser.
What does the SSU say?
According to the SSU, the SSU, together with the NABU and the SAPO, exposed the mayor and the head of the district council of a city in Zakarpattia region for involvement in corruption schemes. According to the case, the officials abused their official position to sell a land plot in the city centre with an area of more than 3 hectares at a reduced price.
"The organiser of the scheme is the head of the district council and is an influential authority in the criminal environment of the region. In the past, he was twice elected as a people's deputy, including from the now banned Party of Regions," the SSU said.
According to the investigation, at a session of the city council, the mayor ensured that a decision was made to sell the land plot at a price that was almost 9 times lower. The buyer of the land plot was a private company whose actual controller is the head of the district council.
The basis for this was an expert monetary valuation with an understated value of the land plot. According to the case file, the owners of the appraiser company were bribed for the "understated conclusion".
As a result of these transactions, the land with a market value of UAH 84.6 million was sold for UAH 9.6 million.
In addition, according to the case file, the mayor personally granted the company a 6-month deferred payment plan.
The SSU 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 officials, as well as the two owners of the appraisal company and the appraiser, are being served with 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).
Earlier, Censor.NET reported that the NABU and the SBU conducted searches at the home of Mukachevo Mayor Andriy Baloha.
