On July 23, 2024, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HCC) took into custody in absentia an appraiser whom the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) suspect of being involved in a large-scale case of abuse of the mayor of Baloga during the sale of a plot of land in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast .
This was reported by the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. According to the request of NABU detectives and the SAP prosecutor, VAKS chose a preventive measure in the form of detention in absentia for another suspect - an appraiser involved in the case of the sale of a communal land plot with an area of more than 3 hectares at an undervalued price.
So far, it has not been possible to detain the suspect in person, so the investigating judge will decide on the application of a preventive measure after she is delivered to the place of pre-trial investigation.
The investigation believes that the mayor of Mukachevo Andrii Baloga and former People's Deputy Mykhailo Lanyo are involved in this corruption scheme. According to NABU and SAP, the mayor of Mukacheva contributed to the decision to sell the land plot at an undervalued price. This decision was approved at a session of the city council and provided for the sale of the plot to a private company whose controller is Lanyo.
The assessment of the value of the plot for which the bribe was given allowed to sell the land with a market value of UAH 84.6 million for only UAH 9.6 million. In addition, Baloga granted the company a 6-month installment payment, which additionally caused losses to the territorial community in the amount of UAH 74.9 million.
Balogu and Lanyo, as well as a number of other persons involved in the case, including the former head of the municipal property and land relations department of the city council, two owners of the appraiser company, as well as other persons who participated in the abuses were detained in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
The press service of NABU and SAP informs that the pre-trial investigation in this case is currently underway, and further actions will depend on the development of the situation and the results of the investigation.
