Position: former acting head of the State Agency for Reserves, former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region.
Sphere of corruption: land issues.
Region of corruption activity: Kyiv region.
Qualification: the actions were qualified under Part 5 of Article 191, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
The plot of the case: back in August 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office exposed a scheme to seize state land worth almost UAH 1.8 billion near Kyiv, covering an area of over 1,200 hectares.
Then NABU and SAPO exposed 5 people - members of an organized group that seized land plots near Kyiv with an area of over 1,200 hectares. Their actions led to more than UAH 1.8 billion in losses to the state.
The body added that the suspicion was reported to the former deputy head of the state enterprise "Main Research and Design Institute of Land Management" (the organizer of the scheme); two former officials of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region (the perpetrators of the crime, one of them is currently the head of one of the central executive bodies) and two individuals associated with the former leadership of the State Geocadastre.
According to media reports, the head of one of the central administrative bodies mentioned by NABU is the acting head of the State Agency for Reserves, Dmytro Babak. He previously held the position of head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region.
According to the investigation, in 2018-2019, the organizer of the crime, having influence over officials of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region, as well as connections with high-ranking officials in various spheres, developed a scheme to seize agricultural lands that were in permanent use by state enterprises in the Kyiv region. To do this, he involved other accomplices who, among other things, were looking for JFO participants who were entitled to receive a land plot free of charge. Detectives and prosecutors established two episodes of criminal activity - the seizure of almost 920 hectares of state land in Fastiv and about 284 hectares of the Puscha-Vodytsia State Enterprise near the city of Kyiv.
In Fastiv, the suspects seized the lands of the state enterprise "Research Farm "Dmytrivka" from the jurisdiction of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences. These lands were allocated to JFO participants without their knowledge, and then resold to third parties officially at a price 10 times lower than the market value.
So, the following individuals appear in the case of the seizure of over 1,200 hectares of land in the Kyiv region:
● Oleg Levchenko: former Acting Head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in Kyiv Region.
● Dmytro Babak: former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region and former head of the State Reserve Agency of Ukraine.
● Lyudmila Prykhodko: former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region.
● Yevhen Syngaevsky: former freelance advisor to the ex-head of the State Agency of Land Resources.
The actions of the individuals were classified under Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In total, 12 individuals are suspected in this case, including the above-mentioned ones.
At the end of August 2023, the Supreme Court of Ukraine imposed a preventive measure on Dmytro Babak. The NABU detective and the SAPO prosecutor requested that Babak be placed under house arrest, but the court refused to grant this request.
The NABU detective's request for the application of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest is partially granted. The suspect (Dmytro Babak, - ed.) is to be subject to a preventive measure in the form of a personal bond.
He was also given a number of procedural obligations, including refraining from communicating with the suspects in these criminal proceedings, as well as surrendering his passport. Source:
In early March 2024, it became known that NABU and SAPO reported suspicions to Oleh Shvydky, a deputy of the Borshchahiv village council of the Buchansky district of the Kyiv region, in the case of the seizure of over 1,200 hectares of land in Pushcha-Vodytsa and Fastiv in the Kyiv region.
According to media reports, Shvydkyi was informed of the suspicion on February 9. According to the investigation, Shvydkyi was the right-hand man of the former acting head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region, Oleg Levchenko, who is also a suspect in the case.
The NABU detective and the SAPO prosecutor requested that Shvydky be placed under night house arrest as a preventive measure. His fellow deputies from the Borshchahiv village council wanted to take the suspect on bail. However, the court sent the deputy under night house arrest.
The NABU detective's request for the application of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest within the framework of criminal proceedings - partially satisfied. Apply to the suspect (Shvydky - ed.) a preventive measure in the form of house arrest with a ban on leaving the residence from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. without the permission of the detective, prosecutor, investigating judge or court, for a period of 2 months, but within the period of the pre-trial investigation, i.e. until April 15, 2024 inclusive
Shvydky was given the following duties: to arrive at the first call; not to leave the Kyiv region without permission; to report any change in his place of residence and work; to refrain from communicating with suspects in these criminal proceedings and witnesses, and to hand over his foreign passports for safekeeping.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes:
● Oleg Levchenko: former Acting Head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in Kyiv Region.
● Lyudmila Prykhodko: former head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region.
● Yevhen Syngaevsky: former freelance advisor to the ex-head of the State Agency of Land Resources.
● Oleg Shvydkyi, deputy of the Borshchahiv village council, Buchansky district, Kyiv region.
Assets: In his 2023 tax declaration, Babak indicated that he lives in an apartment in Kyiv. Thus, based on the declaration data, the former official does not have his own home.
In addition, in the same year, Babak began using a Toyota Camry, the cost of which he decided not to disclose.
Babak's income for 2023 was UAH 851,515, and he declared UAH 300,000 in cash.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal activities of Babak and his accomplices.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, Dmytro Babak was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/d847ae7e-29bc-476e-ba42-62af8321f3d5