In Odesa region, the head of a village council in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district was notified of suspicion of seizing 0.25 hectares of the coast of the Dniester Estuary and attempting to legalize it.
He planned to privatize the communal land plot for free and sell it to a private entrepreneur using false documents, according to the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.
"The scheme consisted in the use of notoriously unreliable documents about the alleged presence of a building on the site, which gives the formal right for its privatization to a controlled person, with the subsequent issuance of a decision of the village council to transfer the land into ownership," the press service said.
It is noted that the land was planned to be sold to a private entrepreneur for $12,000. The official concluded a preliminary sales contract and received a $3,000 advance.
The message emphasized that the law enforcement officers prevented the completion of this plan. So far, they have sent a petition to the court to choose a preventive measure for the suspect and remove him from his position.
"Investigative actions are ongoing regarding other episodes of the official's illegal activity and the identification of all participants in the arrangement," the press service added.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, in Odesa, on the banks of the Dniester near the water's edge, two new wooden houses were built on the lands of the Bilyaiv Forestry. Such construction completely destroyed the natural landscape of the coastal protective strip.
