Ukraine’s agriculture minister suspected of corrupt land grab
Al Jazeera
Mykola Solsky promises ‘maximum openness’ in probe into illegal acquisition of state-owned land.
Ukraine’s agriculture minister has been made a suspect in a corruption probe.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky pledged on Tuesday his full cooperation with Kyiv’s anticorruption agency as it investigates the illegal acquisition of state-owned land.
The case is the first against a minister under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The post of agriculture minister is particularly sensitive given Kyiv’s efforts to maintain its massive grain exports – a vital economic pillar – in the face of Russia’s invasion.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said it had uncovered a scheme led by a current minister to illegally acquire state-owned land worth 291 million hryvnia ($7.36m).
It did not name Solsky, but in its statement said the suspect was the former chairman of the parliamentary agrarian committee. Solsky held the post before becoming a minister.
