Irpin and Bucha Mayors Face Six-Year Jail Terms

The mayors of Irpin and Bucha – cities in Kyivska Oblast – can be sentenced to six years in prison, Volodymyr Hutsuliak of the Prosecutor General’s Office (GPU) said on July 21. If they are also convicted of abuse of power, the incarceration term may be as high as 12 years.

The GPU is conducting 31 searches in companies involved in land transfers in the cases of the mayors of Irpin and Bucha.

"We are identifying all the persons involved in these cases. Charges will be also made against other perpetrators," Hutsuliak claimed.

According to the GPU, the mayors of these cities have illegally disposed of 890 hectares of forestry lands resulting in hundreds of millions losses for the state. One of the episodes investigated by the GPU includes allocation of 14 hectares to Yanukovych-era First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Igor Kaletnyk.

Jewelry, cash, and documents have been seized from Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk.

Commenting on the alleged fleeing of Irpin Mayor Volodymyr Karpliuk from Ukraine, the GPU official noted that this information has not been officially confirmed so far. Hutsuliak admits escaping Ukraine could happen because of a ‘leak’ of information about the investigation from law enforcement or security forces.

According to him, both mayors are currently accused of abuse of office (Article 364 of the Criminal Code). It entails maximum punishment of six-year incarceration. If they are also convicted of abuse of powers (Article 191), they can be sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko informed earlier that throughout 2006-2012, the mayors of Bucha and Irpin mayors illegally sold state-owned land plots to their friends and top officials of the country.

Source: Roman Kravets, Tetiana Kusok, Ukrayinska Pravda