A Ukrainian minister is said to have appropriated thousands of hectares of land, reports the state anti-corruption office. National news media assume that the speech is from Agriculture Minister Solskyj.
According to investigations by the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), a state agency, a minister is said to have appropriated state-owned land. A “former chairman of the agricultural committee” had a total of 1,250 properties with an area of around 2,500 hectares and a value of 291 million hryvnia (currently around seven million euros) transferred to him, NABU announced on Telegram. The illegal transfer of another 3,200 hectares of land was thwarted.
The description matches Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyj, who, according to consistent reports from Ukrainian news media, is the suspect. He had chaired the Agriculture Committee from 2019 until an appointment as minister in 2022.
Investigations are ongoing
According to the allegations, between 2017 and 2021, land owned by a state-owned company in Sumy Oblast in the north of the country was transferred to new owners, which Solskyj’s agricultural holding company then received for use. The investigation is said to be ongoing.
Neither Solskyj nor the Ukrainian government initially commented on the allegations. However, there has been speculation for days about the possible imminent dismissal of several ministers, and Solskyj’s name has also been mentioned.