Chernyshov built cottage estate in Kozyn during war. NABU conducted dozens of searches – media. VIDEO
Former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov was building four houses, each about 1,000 square meters, during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This is stated in the article by UP (Ukrainska Pravda) journalist Mykhailo Tkach, Censor.NET reports.
Searches at Chernyshov’s properties
According to Tkach, at the end of September, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted around 20 searches targeting individuals and companies linked to the construction of the mansions.
"The pretrial investigation established that Chernyshov, while serving as an official of a central executive authority, and his wife, Svitlana Chernyshova, through their affiliated legal entities, Bloom Development LLC and the Soniachnyi Bereh (Sunny Shore) cooperative, as well as their representatives, acquired real estate consisting of land plots and houses located in Kozyn, Obukhiv district, Kyiv region. Their actions may constitute a criminal offense under Article 209, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — acts aimed at concealing or disguising the origin of property in particularly large amounts, where the circumstances indicate that such property was obtained through criminal means, as well as concealing ownership rights or sources of origin," the report cites.
Construction of the mansions
By 2021, satellite images on Google Maps already showed four houses. In the second half of 2022, the construction of the mansions resumed, according to law enforcement sources.
Tkach noted that Chernyshov lacked legitimate income sufficient to finance the construction of four mansions, each covering roughly 1,000 square meters.
Even after being served with a notice of suspicion, construction continued and it did not stop after he left his position as deputy prime minister.
"Sources in political and business circles say they have information about who these houses might have been built for, homes being completed in one of the country’s most expensive settlements during Russia’s full-scale invasion. But they have no evidence," the journalist concluded.
What is known about corruption in the Ministry of Reconstruction under Chernyshov?
Last week, the NABU served five people with a notice of suspicion in a case of corruption in the construction sector involving top government officials.
In particular, Vasyl Volodin, a member of the Board of "Naftogaz" of Ukraine, Maksym Horbatiuk, Chief Commercial Officer of "Ukrgazvydobuvannia" JSC, Alla Sushon, former Director of "Ukrkomunobslugovuvannia" SE, and Serhii Kopystyra, a developer, were suspected of abuse of office, receiving and giving an undue advantage in a particularly large amount.
On 13 June, the HACC arrested Horbatiuk with the option of posting UAH 25 million bail, on 17 June, the court arrested Volodin with an alternative of UAH 20 million bail, and on 20 June, the developer, Kopystyr was granted a preventive measure in the form of arrest with an alternative of UAH 100 million bail.
At the time of the crime, Volodin was the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Regional Development, and Horbatiuk was an adviser to the head of the ministry, Oleksii Chernyshov, who later became the head of "Naftogaz", where his associates also went to work. Chernyshov is now the head of the Ministry of National Unity and is abroad.
According to the investigation, the developer developed a scheme to illegally obtain a land plot in Kyiv for the construction of a residential complex. To do this, he turned to top officials of the Ministry of Regional Development, who created the conditions for the transfer of land to a state-controlled enterprise. The latter illegally entered into investment agreements with the construction company in question. At the same time, the land and the buildings on it were valued at almost five times cheaper, and the difference between this valuation and the market value exceeded UAH 1 billion.
According to the UP, NABU detectives planned to conduct a search of Chernyshov's place a year ago, but it was cancelled at the request of the Bureau's director, Semen Kryvonos. At the same time, Chernyshov secretly met with Kryvonos, later explaining that the meeting was to discuss the anti-corruption programme of "Naftogaz". Kryvonos himself denied any involvement in the cancellation of Chernyshov's searches.
