Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oles Dovhy (Will of the People group) has been handed a notice of suspicion, Interfax-Ukraine learnt at the prosecutor's office of Kyiv.

"Suspicion was handed on Friday," the press service of Kyiv city prosecutor's office told Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Monday.

Later that day, the press service of the department reported that Dovhy is suspected of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely, abuse of power and official position when serving as deputy mayor of Kyiv - secretary of Kyiv City Council.

"As a result of these actions, ten land plots from the Zhukov Island – the wildlife sanctuary of local importance – with a total area of 44.25 hectares were illegally transferred to a housing cooperative, which caused damage to the state worth a total of UAH 81.7 million," the press service said.

As reported, on September 22, Head of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Yuriy Lutsenko signed a notice of suspicion for Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deputy Oles Dovhy (Will of the People group).

Lutsenko earlier said Dovhy is a suspect in a criminal case on the illegal allocation by Kyiv City Council of a 100-hectare land plot in the Zhukov Island wildlife sanctuary on the southern outskirts of Kyiv in 2005 and may be prosecuted under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code (abuse of power and office).

Ukraine's Parliament on July 11, 2017, granted the PGO request to bring criminal charges against Dovhy, who asked colleagues in the Rada to remove his immunity from prosecution.

On July 14 head of Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytsky said investigatory actions involving Dovhy had been undertaken.

In August, National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine chief Artem Sytnyk said suspicion of Dovhy had not yet been agreed upon.