Zatoka Mayor Taken Into Custody

On 16 January, the Kyiv District Court of Odesa placed Zatoka Mayor Vasyl Zvyagintsev and the head of the urban planning and architecture department of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City Council under arrest.

Both officials are implicated in schemes involving state land. They transferred a seaside plot exceeding three hectares in size from communal to private ownership. The plot was subsequently divided into 66 smaller parcels, which the speculators registered in the names of relatives and acquaintances.

The market value of the plot is estimated at 50 million hryvnia.

The court set bail for Vasyl Zvyagintsev at 5 million hryvnia, which he can pay to secure his release.