Chernyshov at the epicenter of the corruption scandal: the Deputy Prime Minister was searched
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches at the residence of current Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov about a month ago.
This is stated in the investigation of “Ukrainian Truth”.
As the publication’s sources noted, the searches took place within the framework of a case regarding the illegal transfer of land to developer Serhiy Kopystyra (KSM Group).
As the investigation established, officials of the Ministry of Regional Development under the leadership of Chernyshov created conditions for Kopystyra to obtain a land plot in Kyiv for the construction of a residential complex in 2021-2022. The land was valued almost five times cheaper than the market value, which could have caused losses to the state of more than UAH 1 billion.
The publication noted that the searches at Chernyshov’s house were conducted almost a year after receiving the first court ruling on the matter. Journalists reported on NABU’s intentions to conduct searches back in June 2024. However, no one conducted any investigative actions.
At that time, four sources in anti-corruption agencies told the publication that the searches were not carried out due to the influence of NABU Director Semen Kryvonos on the detectives. On the day the journalistic investigation on this matter was published, Kryvonos was supposed to come to a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption committee. However, the NABU director never showed up.
The sudden acceleration in the case, even within the anti-corruption agencies themselves, is jokingly linked to a possible struggle for influence over President Volodymyr Zelensky. The key figures in this struggle are the head of the president’s office, Andriy Yermak, and one of the key associates of Zelensky’s pre-presidential team and co-owner of “Kvartal 95” Timur Mindich, who also has influence over the Cabinet of Ministers.
But according to journalists, this version looks unlikely. NABU detectives have been conducting large-scale work on the case since July 2023, when Kopystyra was detained on suspicion of attempting to bribe Chernyshov’s successor, the then Minister of Community Development, Oleksandr Kubrakov. The latter, in cooperation with the anti-corruption bureau, documented this attempt.
During the searches, Chernyshov was found with the book “Collection of Works by Skovoroda, Volume One” worth $1,000, which, according to the investigation, was given to him by Kopystira.
It is noted that last week, two of his close associates were detained in Ukraine – Maksym Horbatyuk, a volunteer advisor to the minister who later became the commercial director of a subsidiary of Naftogaz of Ukraine, and Vasyl Volodin, a former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development and a member of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine. The VAKS also took into custody the developer Kopystyra with an alternative bail of UAH 100 million.
As a reminder, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated thatthe Minister of Unity is still on a working trip to European countries, which will last until the end of the week.
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