The ball is in the NACP's court: the head of the supervisory board of the State Land Bank has a real conflict of interest

The head of the supervisory board of "State Land Bank" LLC (Derzhzembank) Oleksandr Vasylchenko should be brought to justice due to a conflict of interest, which is directly prohibited by anti-corruption legislation. In addition, the management of the State Property Fund, in particular the head Ivanna Smachylo, should also be held responsible for the admitted conflict of interest. Such an opinion was expressed in comments to UNN by experts, calling on the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) to take immediate measures.

Conflict of interest – responsibility including the management of the State Property Fund

The Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Agrarian and Land Policy called on the NAPC to conduct an audit regarding the conflict of interest of the head of the Supervisory Board of "Derzhzembank" LLC Oleksandr Vasylchenko, who is simultaneously the head of the department of agricultural enterprises of the apparatus of the State Property Fund. That is, "Derzhzembank" was created by the Fund in order to sublease state agricultural lands that were transferred to the State Property Fund.

According to the founder of the law firm "Kasyanenko and Partners", Dmytro Kasyanenko, such dual activity of Vasylchenko is a clear violation of Article 28 of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption", which establishes restrictions on conflict of interest and incompatibility.

If a person is simultaneously a representative of the State Property Fund, which manages the enterprise, this creates a real conflict of interest. According to Art. 28 of the Law "On Prevention of Corruption", this is a violation for which liability is provided for under Art. 172-7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, in particular a fine and possible removal from office

He stressed that the NAPC should check these circumstances and take appropriate measures.

The Deputy Head of the Public Council under the NAPC, a member of the board of the RISE coalition and the head of the board of the NGO "Anti-Corruption Headquarters" Serhiy Mytkalyk in a comment to UNN explained that a conflict of interest is, in particular, a contradiction between official powers and private interest. If a person simultaneously heads the department of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex in the State Property Fund and the supervisory board of the enterprise that operates the lands transferred to the Fund, there are real risks of abuse.

For example, a discount on a separate land for persons to whom, for example, Mr. Vasylchenko is related, or any other so to speak, benefit. We can talk about a certain conflict of interest here. Therefore, it is worth contacting the NAPC, I think that the committee did the right thing so that they checked within their powers, because the NAPC is the body that checks information about a possible conflict of interest, draws up protocols and brings to justice

He noted that the NAPC should analyze all the powers exercised by the State Property Fund and directly all the decisions made by Vasylchenko. "That is, it is necessary to analyze all the papers, documents, agreements that were signed by Mr. Vasylchenko, both directly at work in the State Property Fund and as the chairman of the supervisory board of Derzhzembank LLC," Mytkalyk explained.

At the same time, lawyer Dmytro Kasyanenko added that in case of detection of a conflict of interest in Vasylchenko, the management of the State Property Fund should also be brought to justice.

At the same time, the management of the State Property Fund may be held accountable for improper control and allowing a conflict of interest

Not only conflict of interest

The Agrarian Committee of the Council also drew attention to the fact that Derzhzembank LLC still does not have an approved financial plan for 2025, which is also a violation of current legislation.

It is about the fact that a company that is a business entity of the state sector cannot operate without an approved financial plan, because this directly violates the norms of Cabinet Decree No. 1133 and Article 11 of the Law "On Management of State Property Objects".

Derzhzembank LLC, as a business entity of the state sector, is obliged to have an approved financial plan in accordance with CMU Decree No. 1133 and Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On Management of State Property Objects". The absence of such a plan is a violation of legislation and may lead to the recognition of certain economic actions, in particular concluded contracts, as illegal

Formally, "Derzhzembank" is a limited liability company, but in fact it is an enterprise that takes care of state lands, created by the State Bank Fund and 100% controlled by the state. According to Serhiy Mytkalyk, it is in such "hybridity" that there are many legal nuances that can be used to avoid responsibility by officials who have committed violations of the law. Therefore, it is necessary that this issue be immediately studied by competent anti-corruption bodies.

Let us remind

Almost a year ago, the State Property Fund created the first operator of state lands, "State Land Bank" LLC, the purpose of which is to lease plots and thus fill the state budget. The first pool of state-owned land with a total area of almost 91 thousand hectares was transferred there, which the State Property Fund took from various state enterprises and institutions. However, during this time, Derzhzembank managed to lease only a little more than 20 thousand hectares.

The Council Committee demands a detailed analysis of the state lands of the State Property Fund transferred for sublease. People's Deputies suspect violations of legislation during the transfer, in particular, failure to take into account the type of land. In addition, the Agrarian Committee of the Council requires a report on state lands that were transferred to the Fund, but were never subleased.