Constitutional Court's head on land in Crimea: my only fault is I do not ask NACP for clarification
Head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytsky says that he had no intention of hiding information about the existence of a land plot in Crimea, and the transactions that were made in 2018 concerned the delimitation of land plots.
At a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, he said that the land plot in Crimea with an area of 126 square meters was privatized even before the time of the annexation of Crimea, due to an incomprehensible situation with cadastres, "borders were mixed" and legal problems arose with the delimitation of land plots.
"The legal deal was in 2018. I cannot entry into the territory of Crimea [...] A criminal proceeding has been initiated against me in the Russian Federation. Economic sanctions have been imposed on the land plot and the house," the court's head said.
According to Tupytsky, he issued a power of attorney, and the problematic issues of delimitation were settled by lawyers "by making a purchase and sale agreement," which is entered in the register.
"To enter (in the declaration) what you do not recognize [...] There was no sale and purchase, there were circumstances that needed to be settled [...] My only fault is that I did not turn to the NACP authorities to explain to me how do it. However, as a lawyer I think that they can hardly explain something in such circumstances," he said.
He also said that he then issued a Ukrainian power of attorney for the sale, including of a plot in Crimea.
"It is doubtful to speak of deliberate intent on my part to hide it," he said.
According to Tupytsky, Ukraine does not recognize the legal transactions that are being made in Crimea.
"This deal is not valid (for Ukraine), but it is not a crime," he said.