Misappropriation of agricultural products: MP and regional council deputy under suspicion (PHOTOS)

NABU and SAPO, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine, exposed a scheme to misappropriate sunflower and corn harvests belonging to state institutions within the structure of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS).

The organizers are a Member of Parliament—already standing trial for receiving a USD 85,000 bribe from an agribusiness owner—and a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council.

According to the investigation, in 2021, the MP, acting in collusion with the director of one of the research farms and an accomplice, organized the harvesting and transportation of agricultural products to private grain storage facilities in the Chernihiv and Poltava regions. In total, more than 990 tonnes of sunflower seeds and 1,400 tonnes of corn were removed, with a combined value of UAH 27.3 million.

In 2022, a similar scheme was carried out at a research station, where 203 tonnes of sunflower seeds were shipped to controlled storage facilities. To conceal the crime, the actual volume of the harvested crops was not reflected in the accompanying documentation.

As a result of both episodes, the state suffered losses amounting to nearly UAH 30 million.

The suspects are:

• a Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the 9th convocation (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• two heads of state enterprises within the NAAS structure (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• an accomplice (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).