SAPO requesting bail for Deputy PM Chernyshov

Olesia Chemerys, spokesperson for the High Anti-Corruption Court, said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.

“The court hearing to determine a preventive measure for Deputy Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov is scheduled for 11:00 on June 25 and will be presided over by Investigating Judge Vitaliy Kryklyvyi,” said Chemerys.

According to law enforcement sources cited by Ukrinform, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) is requesting that the court impose bail without detention as the chosen measure.

As reported by Ukrinform, on June 23, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine served a notice of suspicion to Deputy Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov. He is accused of abuse of office and receiving unlawful benefits in a particularly large amount for himself and third parties.

Chernyshov is the sixth individual named in a high-profile corruption case involving a large-scale construction scheme and several senior government officials.

According to investigators, a Kyiv-based developer orchestrated a scheme to illegally acquire a land plot in the capital for the construction of a residential complex. To execute the plan, he enlisted the help of the then-Minister of Regional Development, the State Secretary of the Ministry, the Minister’s advisor, and the director of a state-owned enterprise. Together, they created the conditions necessary to transfer the land to the state enterprise, which then unlawfully signed investment agreements with a pre-selected construction company.

Under the terms of these agreements, the developer was required to allocate a portion of the future apartments to the state, proportional to the land’s value. However, to reduce this obligation, the land and existing structures were deliberately undervalued—by nearly five times. The resulting discrepancy between the assessed and market value exceeded UAH 1 billion, representing the potential loss in real estate the state would have suffered had the contracts been executed. The scheme was halted when the land plot was seized at the request of NABU and SAPO.

As part of the scheme, the developer “rewarded” the Minister and his associates with steeply discounted apartments in completed residential complexes. The price per square meter ranged from UAH 1,000 to UAH 8,000—far below the market minimum of approximately UAH 30,000. As a result, the Minister received an undue benefit valued at over UAH 14.5 million.

On June 22, Deputy Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov announced his return from an official business trip abroad. The following day, he stated on Facebook that he had visited the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Earlier, media outlets had reported that Chernyshov remained abroad amid the unfolding corruption investigation. However, his press service stressed that the trip was pre-planned.