HACC upholds preventive measure against ex-Deputy PM Chernyshov

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

Chernyshov remains under a UAH 120 million bail, imposed on June 27, along with several procedural obligations, including appearing upon request to the detective, prosecutor, or court; notifying authorities of any change of residence or employment; not leaving Ukraine without official permission; refraining from contact with other suspects and witnesses.

These obligations remain in effect until August 27.

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) served Chernyshov with a notice of suspicion. He is accused of abuse of power and receiving undue benefits on a large scale for himself and third parties.

Chernyshov is the sixth suspect in a major corruption scheme involving top government officials and illegal land allocation in Kyiv's construction sector.

According to investigators, a developer devised a scheme to unlawfully acquire a land plot for residential construction. With the help of the then-Minister for Communities and Territories Development, along with the ministry's state secretary, the minister's adviser, and the head of a state enterprise, the land was transferred to the enterprise. It then illegally signed investment contracts with a selected construction company.

Under these contracts, the developer was supposed to transfer a portion of the apartments to the state, proportionate to the land's value. However, the land and buildings on it were deliberately undervalued — nearly five times below market price — resulting in over UAH 1 billion in potential losses for the state. The scheme was halted when the land was seized by court order at the request of NABU and SAPO.

As a reward, the developer granted the minister and his associates deep discounts on apartments — from UAH 1,000 to 8,000 per square meter, while the market value was about UAH 30,000 per square meter. As a result, the former minister received illicit benefits totaling over UAH 14.5 million.

Most of the unlawfully obtained properties have also been seized at the request of NABU and SAPO.