Case on Yanukovych’s Hunting Land Submitted to Court

On June 15, the Prosecutor General’s Office (GPU) filed a case against ex-Kyiv Oblast officials with the court. The case involves embezzlement of hunting land at Sukholuchia by ex-President Yanukovych, as the GPU press office reports [ed.: the text of this hyperlink is in the Ukrainian language].

The indictment is made against the state-run forest company’s CEO, two private companies’ CEOs, an ex-assistant to the Prime Minister and 14 more accomplices. "They all are accused of aiding Yanukovych in embezzling a valuable public property – a land plot with an area of 17.5 hectares (43 acres) in Sukholuchia forest of Kyiv Oblast worth over ₴22 million ($0.9 million). The property was sold to a dummy – Forester House Ltd [Ukr.: ТОВ "Дім Лісника"] controlled by Yanukovych," the report reads.

During pre-trial investigation, the court froze the entire property together with a hotel and a restaurant erected on this land plot. Moreover, it froze the assets of the accused worth over ₴10 million ($400,000) in total. The GPU underlined that if proven guilty, the court would sentence the accused to up to 12 years of imprisonment and seize their property.

Yanukovych and three more persons were put on a wanted list with regard to this crime. Pre-trial investigation in absentia against them is about to start.

Source: Ukrayinska Pravda