The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) at a sitting on Wednesday, March 1, sentenced the former head of the State Enterprise Boryspil International Airport to five years in prison, the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has said on the Telegram channel.

The ex-head of the airport, Yevhen Dykhne, and the head of the rental relations service, Olesia Liovochko, were found guilty of abuse of office which caused more than UAH 15.7 million in damage, that is, of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"The court sentenced the former head of the State Enterprise Boryspil International Airport to five years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative or administrative and economic functions for a period of three years and with a fine of UAH 8,500. The head of the rental relations service is sentenced to four years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative or administrative functions for a period of three years and with a fine of UAH 8,500," the message says.

According to the press service of the HACC, the court also ruled to recover from both defendants in favor of the Regional Department of the State Property Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions material damage in the amount of UAH 10.997 million.

The verdict of the court may be appealed within 30 days from the date of its announcement by filing an appeal to the Appeals Chamber of the HACC.

As reported, from 2014 to 2019, Dykhne and Liovochko transferred premises to business entities on the basis of concluded preliminary lease agreements. However, it turned out that the above-mentioned property belongs to the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine and only the State Property Fund has the right to lease it under the appropriate competitive procedure. Despite this, in violation of the current legislation, officials unlawfully transferred these premises to entrepreneurs at a low cost, which led to damage in the amount of more than UAH 15.7 million.

The investigation of these facts has been carried out since June 2019. On September 7, 2020, National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) notified Dykhne and Liovochko of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position).