The owner of the investment company Concorde Capital, Ihor Mazepa, was detained on January 18 at 15:00 during his attempt to cross the Ukrainian-Polish border at the "Medyka-Sheghini" checkpoint. The company is currently being searched. The trial in Mazepa's case is scheduled for today, January 19.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Mazepa is considered to be the organizer of the scheme of illegal acquisition of land plots on which the hydraulic facilities of the Kyiv HPP are located. The detention took place in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
It is noted that three other members of the criminal organization, including the brother of the organizer of the scheme, were detained along with Mazepa. Earlier, on November 29, 2023, the SBI already revealed and detained the members of the organization who illegally took over 7 hectares of land belonging to the Kyiv HPP.
Representatives of the SBI claim that the criminal organization included almost two dozen people, including investors, architects, lawyers and other specialists. The scheme operated in the interests of developers who, thanks to corruption connections, registered land plots as agricultural purposes and their subsequent resale.
Members of a criminal organization face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. All those involved in the case, who were detained on January 18, have already been charged with suspicion, including one of them suspected of organizing a criminal group, and the other of participating in a criminal organization, said Tetyana Sapyan, the spokeswoman for the DBR.
The Concorde Capital company, where Ihor Mazepa is the director, expressed the opinion that his detention is connected with "a public position regarding increased pressure from law enforcement agencies on Ukrainian businessmen." It was noted that after the arrest of Mazepa on January 18, Concorde Capital's office was searched, and they are preparing an appeal to the government regarding "pressure on the company" by law enforcement officers.
The report states that during the searches, law enforcement officers committed illegal and aggressive actions, including restricting the access of lawyers, randomly seizing documents and employees' funds, searching the office without a court order, and forcibly opening the door. Concorde Capital takes the initiative to address the government regarding the pressure on the company and the possible impact on the investment climate in Ukraine due to the actions of law enforcement agencies.
It is noted that businessman Ihor Mazepa was offered to set a bond in the amount of 700 million hryvnias, and his brother - 500 million hryvnias.
Mazepa himself expressed his surprise, saying he did not understand why he was detained over some flaw in the allocation of land, which he said did not concern him personally. He also noted that the suspicion in the case concerns only some Russian words that he heard during the detention.
In reaction to Mazepa's detention, a number of members of the public and the business community expressed their opinions. Vsevolod Kozhemyako believes that this may be related to corruption, political or law enforcement racket demands. The Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs expressed uncertainty about the lack of information about the detention of officials or representatives of law enforcement agencies in this case. Valery Pekar noted that similar circumstances can affect any entrepreneur with experience, and Yaroslav Zheleznyak defined it as possible "racketeering by law enforcement officers."
About Concorde Capital. Founded by Ihor Mazepa, the company has become the leader of the Ukrainian investment market in its 18 years of existence, having attracted more than 4 billion US dollars in investments from more than 1,000 clients.
Representatives of the political and business environment also expressed their reaction to the events.
