In Zhytomyr region in the Narodytskyi community, the village council illegally leased 1,437 hectares of land in the exclusion zone of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, i.e. radioactive contamination, for the cultivation of grain crops.
The criminal group was organized by the head of the village, the land manager and the heads of three business entities that received land for rent, the press service of the of Ukraine reports.>
It is noted that the officials organized the scheme in 2020. Arbitrary occupation of lands caused serious consequences and caused losses of more than 37 million hryvnias.
Law enforcement officers also published an audio recording of a conversation between farmers who illegally leased land in the Exclusion Zone to grow wheat. One of them said that officials lease land for 2 years for $100 per hectare, or for 10 years for $150.
The police searched all five members of the criminal group and found and seized documents and other evidence of involvement. All participants were informed of the suspicion of criminal offenses, in particular for abuse of power or official position and arbitrary occupation of land. They face up to six years in prison.
"Documentation of other facts of illegal use of state-owned land in the zone of radioactive contamination as a result of the Chernobyl disaster continues," the press service said.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, the leadership of "Energoatom" organized laundering of part of the money for the construction of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (SFSF) in Chornobyl.
