Land corruption: Klitschko announces dismissals in Kyiv City Administration
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko announced the dismissal of several key officials in the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) due to recent corruption scandals related to land issues in the capital.
As reported by Ukrinform, Klitschko made this statement at the beginning of a Kyiv City Council session, according to the Kyiv City State Administration.
Klitschko stated that Deputy Head of KCSA Petro Olenych, Deputy Head of the Kyiv municipal utility company Kyivblahoustrii Oleksii Mushta, and Deputy Director of Spetszhytlofond Yurii Leonov had been removed from their positions. Leonov will be officially dismissed tomorrow.
The Mayor also commented on recent news related to land matters, saying the city is providing all requested documents to law enforcement and is cooperating fully with investigations. He emphasized that all documents concerning the land plots in question will be thoroughly checked, as part of a broader investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).
Klitschko also announced the dismissal of several other officials, including: Director of the Kyiv Institute of Land Relations Ihor Dolynskyi, Director of Spetszhytlofond Volodymyr Sharii, Director of Housing and Investment Financial Company Viktor Pogribnyi, Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture Valentyna Sviatyna
Moreover, additional dismissals are expected within the Kyivzelenbud municipal corporation, including General Director Yurii Bakhmat and other senior officials.
The Mayor confirmed that a reorganization of the city’s urban planning and land management sectors will take place, with a special focus on closing legislative loopholes that enable abuses. A package of decisions to prevent future misuse is being prepared by the Kyiv City Council. Additionally, Kyiv officials are preparing an appeal to the Ukrainian parliament to regulate land and property relations more effectively.
Klitschko concluded that, despite the reforms, the Kyiv City Council must continue working to ensure the city’s effective governance, especially during martial law, and avoid any disruptions to the capital's management system.
As reported by Ukrinform, on February 6, during the Clean City operation, employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau informed about suspicions against Kyiv officials, including Deputy Head of the KCSA Petro Olenych, Kyiv City Council members, Head of the Land Relations Committee Mykhailo Terentiev, and committee member Olena Marchenko, as well as former Kyiv City Council deputy Denys Komarnytsky, who is considered the organizer. A total of seven individuals were detained by law enforcement.
On February 26, the High Anti-Corruption Court granted a request from the SAPO and NABU to suspend Petro Olenych from his position as Deputy Head of the KCSA for two months.
On Wednesday, March 13, the NABU announced that it would put Denys Komarnytsky, a figure in the Clean City case, on the international wanted list.