The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) investigation into the illegal appropriation of land belonging to the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant has probably been halted after the adoption of a special law. The 2025 legislative act, which the media called the “Mazepa law,” provides for removing liability on the grounds of the statute of limitations for all land acquirers, even if the land was obtained in violation of the law. Ihor Mazepa, the owner of the Concorde Capital investment bank, was among the people involved in one such case. Serhii Liamets, the former editor of Ekonomichna Pravda, writes about this in his expert blog, reports UNN.
“It cannot be ruled out that the case was buried or closed on the basis of a provision of the law that has retroactive effect... Mazepa has not officially been found guilty in the case concerning the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant land, and the current status of the SBI investigation is unknown,” he believes.
In January 2024, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) searched the Concorde Capital office, and Mazepa was detained while attempting to leave for Poland. The investment banker and his brother were named as persons involved in an investigation into the appropriation of more than 7 hectares of land within the protective dam of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plants and Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Power Plants Cascade. According to the investigators’ version, water fund land was reclassified as agricultural land and then transferred to individuals, who sold it to developers. Cottage settlements, including Shelest and Goodlife Park, built by Mazepa, later appeared on these plots. SBI Director Oleksii Sukhachov stated that among the suspects were three prominent businessmen who divided the territories among themselves and reached agreements with officials on the necessary decisions.
After Mazepa’s detention, some of the big business community spoke out in his support. Following Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s intervention, on March 12, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law of Ukraine No. 4292-IX, which limited the state’s ability to reclaim land from a bona fide acquirer if more than ten years had passed since the original acquisition. The limitation period for such claims was reduced by the law to three years. Importantly, the law has retroactive effect, which is a rather atypical practice. In the author’s view, Ukraine’s legislative branch effectively legitimized the illegal appropriation of land.
However, Liamets emphasized, the state may return to considering the case. Exemption from liability does not apply if the illegally acquired land belongs to critical infrastructure facilities. The dam of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant may belong to precisely this category of land. In the author’s view, impunity in the case concerning the possible illegal appropriation of land belonging to the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant could lead to a man-made disaster, which can be prevented if a court issues a guilty verdict.
“The final decision should be made not by politicians and loyal media outlets, and not even by loyal lawmakers, but by the documents in the criminal proceedings and, ultimately, the court,” concludes the former editor of Ekonomichna Pravda.
The author believes that Mazepa has the image of a businessman inclined to take high risks. According to the author, he has repeatedly featured in economic scandals connected with land assets, debt obligations, and other projects. Yet each time, the owner of Concorde Capital avoided liability, including through his connections in the Ukrainian authorities. In particular, as Liamets claims, Mazepa’s business biography includes millions of dollars in unpaid debts to banks, a case involving the TYME payment system’s cooperation with Russians, and claims from defrauded clients over PrivateFX schemes in the FOREX market.
The only case in which Mazepa failed to avoid liability was a civil lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Commission established that someone had used hackers to obtain insider information. By using stolen press releases, among other things, the offshore company Concorde Bermuda Ltd (a hedge fund created in Bermuda but with its main place of business in Kyiv) earned approximately $3.6 million in profit.
“In February 2016, the SEC announced a settlement under which Concorde Bermuda was to pay $4.2 million. And it did pay. It is very important that the settlement was reached without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations,” Liamets stressed.
According to the author of the post, in Ukraine Mazepa actively cooperates with the state that he allegedly criticizes for interfering in business affairs, precisely in order to avoid responsibility.