Advanced research or hidden lease: what NAAS actually did on state land
Kyiv • UNN
What did the NAAS actually do on state land
The case of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine against the former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky has opened a "Pandora's Box" and demonstrated how the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences irrationally uses agricultural land, UNN writes.
In response to a request from UNN, the NAAS reported that the land plots used by the defendants in the NABU case against the Solske state-owned enterprise Iskra and Nadiya were used to test advanced scientific developments of Ukrainian and world science. These state-owned enterprises allegedly served as a research and experimental base for the Institute of Agriculture of the North-East of the National Academy of Sciences.
However, no matter what "breakthrough" in science the NAAS declares, even a superficial analysis of the financial activities of these state-owned enterprises shows that they are unprofitable and insolvent. A deeper analysis raises doubts as to whether the NAAS really used these lands for advanced scientific research. There is a high probability that these agricultural enterprises could have been used as "technical pads" and the land plots were leased out in a hidden manner.
According to official information from the NAAS, neither Iskra nor Nadiia leased or otherwise used their land. However, how then to explain the lawsuit filed by the farm "Yug" against the state enterprise "Agrofirma Nadiia", in which the farmers claimed that they had grown sunflower on the land of the state enterprise, and that representatives of the latter wanted to steal it.
Moreover, these state-owned enterprises did not even have documents issued in accordance with the current legislation for the land plots on which they had allegedly been conducting experiments for years for the sake of science.
According to the NABU, Mykola Solskyi allegedly took advantage of the fact that the companies had no documents and seized their land plots. However, as it turned out, neither the ex-minister nor his affiliates have any land plots in Sumy region.
However, the land plots are owned by ATO participants, who have already publicly stated that they received their land legally and are outraged by the threats of the NABU and SAPO to take it away from them.
So, in order for the accusations of anti-corruption activists to be confirmed, they first need to prove that the land really belonged to the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, it would be nice if the scientists could also prove that they are using the land appropriately and not making gray money from it.
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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is "known" for its ability to loudly announce the exposure of another scheme and to serve a top official with a notice of suspicion. However, these cases often fall apart in courts or even fail to reach them.
A good example is the criminal proceedings against former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. Both cases collapsed in the courts. However, NABU did not officially apologize to the former minister for illegal criminal prosecution and damage to his business reputation.
