Position: former head of the Hirkopolonkivska rural territorial community.
Sphere of corruption: land.
Region of corruption activity: Volyn region.
Qualification: Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: five years in prison with confiscation of property.
The plot of the case: as stated in the verdict of October 9, 2025, from 2018 to 2019, a local resident applied to the Hirkopolonkivska Village Council with a request to allocate and sell him a land plot of 0.42 hectares for the construction of a store. The man was refused three times, but in April 2019, the head of the community, Nina Symonovych, invited him to her office and promised to influence the decision of the deputies for a reward of UAH 50,000.
According to the investigation, Nina Symonovich thought out the plan together with her husband Viktor Symonovich, who was a deputy of the village council and a member of the land commission. Thus, after receiving part of the bribe, the issue was again brought up for consideration by the village council and the deputies supported the decision to sell the land to the entrepreneur. After signing the contract, the husband handed over the rest of the bribe to Viktor Symonovich.
Nina and Viktor Symonovich claimed in court that they were innocent. According to officials, the businessman persistently asked to be allocated land and independently offered to finance the purchase of garbage containers for the community. The deputy was allegedly detained with this money.
Judge Ihor Yaselskyi found Nina and Viktor Symonovich guilty of receiving unlawful benefit (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced them to five years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, the defendants are prohibited from holding positions in state and local government bodies for three years. The decision can still be appealed in the Court of Appeal.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes:
Deputy of the Hirkopolonkivska rural territorial community Viktor Symonovych.
According to the investigation, Nina Symonovich thought out the plan together with her husband Viktor Symonovich, who was a deputy of the village council and a member of the land commission. Thus, after receiving part of the bribe, the issue was again brought up for consideration by the village council and the deputies supported the decision to sell the land to the entrepreneur. After signing the contract, the husband handed over the rest of the bribe to Viktor Symonovich.
Judge Ihor Yaselskyi found Nina and Viktor Symonovich guilty of receiving unlawful benefit (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced them to five years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, the defendants are prohibited from holding positions in state and local government bodies for three years. The decision can still be appealed in the Court of Appeal.
Assets: in her 2020 tax declaration, Symonovich indicated a residential building and a salary of UAH 614,653.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Symonovich, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner.
Scandals: There is no information in open sources about other scandals in which Symonovich would appear.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/49e3ae4b-26e4-4f63-8518-70c13540d317