Investigation into 'Clean City’ operation completed
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have completed an investigation into a criminal organization that took control of the capital's land decisions in order to seize valuable land for development, NABU reports.
NABU said on Telegram on Tuesday that the deal was uncovered thanks to the large-scale "Clean City" operation.
"The perpetrators used the so-called toilet scheme - they registered primitive structures on the plots in order to obtain land outside the competition, allegedly for their maintenance," NABU reminds.
According to the report, the group included officials of the Kyiv City State Administration and deputies of the City Council.
"The head of the criminal organization, a media-famous former deputy of the Kyiv City Council, controlled land and budget decisions, the appointment and dismissal of officials of the Kyiv City State Administration and the Kyiv Metropolitan Municipality through a wide circle of acquaintances," NABU said.
As a result, during 2023-2024, the criminals planned to seize land of the territorial community of Kyiv for more than UAH 81 million. However, thanks to the actions of NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors, this was prevented.
"To hide their machinations, the suspects used special communications, pseudonyms, and counter-surveillance. But this did not prevent the detectives from exposing them in February last year," the report notes.
The NABU said that at the end of the year, two more people were informed about the suspicion - the former deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration and his accomplice. According to the investigation, they planned to take possession of two land plots in Kyiv through the same "toilet scheme."