More than 3.5 hectares of forest land near Bukovel, valued at 14 million hryvnias, have been returned to the state
Law enforcement officers have returned more than 3.5 hectares of state-owned forest land near the ‘Bukovel’ tourist complex, valued at 14 million hryvnias, to state ownership. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, in June, operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations, investigators from the National Police’s Main Investigative Directorate, in conjunction with the Office of the Prosecutor General, uncovered an organised group whose members are suspected of illegally registering nearly 20 hectares of forest land in the names of individuals under their control.
The land plots in question are located in the village of Polianytsia, Nadvirna District, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, near the ‘Bukovel’ tourist complex. According to law enforcement officials, the scheme involved the use of forged state deeds of ownership, falsified technical documentation and the entry of false information into state registers.
According to the investigation, some of the plots had already been used for development, whilst hotel facilities were being built on others.
The police established that the documents on the basis of which the land ownership rights were registered had not, in fact, been issued by the authorised bodies. Furthermore, the decisions of local authorities referred to in the state documents did not relate to the transfer of these lands into private ownership, and the documents themselves existed only in the form of forged graphic images.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers identified over 100 instances of possible criminal activity, carried out more than 150 searches, conducted over 100 covert investigative and detection operations, and interviewed more than 250 people.
In June this year, six members of the organised group were served with notices of suspicion. A further seven nominal owners of the land plots received convictions in court.
According to the National Police, more than 3.5 hectares of forest land have now been returned to the state. In addition, more than 300 plots of land have been seized. Law enforcement officials stated that they are taking further measures to return all forest land to state ownership. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
The National Police reiterated that, in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime until their guilt has been proven in accordance with the law and established by a court conviction.
