In Ivano-Frankivsk, the chief architect and city hall officials were caught in a scheme selling permits to developers - Prosecutor General
Kyiv • UNN
The city's chief architect and other officials are suspected in a bribery case involving the issuance of urban planning documentation. Three participants in the corruption scheme have been detained.
Top officials of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council profited from permit documentation for developers - with a "fee" of 26 thousand USD, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported on social media on Wednesday, UNN reports.
A systemic corruption mechanism in the field of urban planning and architectural-construction control has been exposed in Ivano-Frankivsk
"Officials of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, together with the head of a specialized municipal enterprise, turned the issuance of permit documents into a 'paid service' for entrepreneurs and developers.
The scheme was organized by:
- an official of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture – the city's chief architect;
- an official of the Department of State Architectural and Construction Control;
- the director of a municipal enterprise (KP) involved in the development of urban planning, design, and land management documentation in Ivano-Frankivsk," the Prosecutor General reported.
According to the Prosecutor General, "city council officials acted as the direct organizers and executors of the preparation and signing of the necessary decisions." "The director of the municipal enterprise played the role of the main contact link and accomplice; he personally met with 'clients,' voiced the established 'fees,' convinced applicants of the inevitability of payment, and directly collected the cash."
"Money was taken from businessmen twice: for the issuance of urban planning conditions and restrictions on the development of land plots, as well as for making decisions on the registration of notices regarding the start of construction work," Kravchenko indicated.
In addition, according to the Prosecutor General, the suspects "guaranteed entrepreneurs assistance in the subsequent registration of leased municipal land under real estate objects into private ownership."
The facts of their criminal activity have been clearly documented, specifically, the extortion and receipt of bribes totaling 26 thousand USD. 10 thousand USD – from a local female entrepreneur for construction passports for three plots, 5 thousand USD – from a representative of a chain of construction supermarkets for urban planning conditions and restrictions for one plot, as well as two tranches of 8 thousand USD and 3 thousand USD – from a construction company for similar permit documents and registration of the start of construction
"Currently, all three participants of the scheme have been detained. They have been notified of suspicion of receiving an improper benefit (Part 3 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). In addition, the director of the municipal enterprise is charged with aiding and abetting the said crime. A motion to the court is being prepared to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for all three," Kravchenko reported.
According to his data, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, together with the SBU, conducted 25 searches at the residences, in cars, and in the offices of the suspects, as well as individuals who may be involved in the scheme. Significant amounts of cash, a fleet of vehicles, and weapons were seized, the Prosecutor General noted.
"The investigation is ongoing. We are identifying other involved persons and additional episodes of receiving bribes in the construction sector of the region. We continue our work," Kravchenko indicated.