The Security Service of Ukraine suspects former Member of Parliament Andriy Derkach of involvement in a scheme for the illegal acquisition of lands from the natural reserve fund in Kyiv, amounting to over 595 million hryvnias. The agency reported that this concerns 41.5 hectares of territory, which constitutes almost half of the entire relevant protected area.
This is reported by Finway
Mechanism of Appropriation and Participants in the Case
According to the investigation, the land manipulations occurred with the participation of Derkach’s accomplices, who at that time held positions as the head of the Obukhiv District Department of the State Land Agency and the head of the Obukhiv District State Administration. The participants in the scheme falsified land management documentation and entered false information into the State Land Cadastre. Subsequently, after numerous procedures of division, consolidation, and resale, the land plots were registered in the names of individuals from Derkach’s close circle.
“This constitutes almost 50% of the total area of this protected zone. To implement the scheme, the participant involved accomplices who were at that time in positions as the head of the Obukhiv District Department of the State Land Agency and the head of the Obukhiv District State Administration.”
Three individuals involved in the case have already been notified of suspicion under articles regarding the appropriation of property and the legalization of income obtained through criminal means. The former head of the Obukhiv District State Administration has been detained, and if found guilty, he faces up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Derkach is Wanted and Stripped of Citizenship
The SBU indicates that Andriy Derkach and another suspect — the former head of the district department of the State Land Agency — are currently hiding abroad, and therefore they have been notified of suspicion in absentia. Investigative actions and measures to hold them accountable are ongoing.
Andriy Derkach himself has not publicly commented on the accusations. It is known that after the onset of the full-scale invasion by Russia, he has not appeared in the Verkhovna Rada, and his parliamentary powers have been suspended. Prior to this, Derkach regularly appeared on television channels associated with Viktor Medvedchuk and disseminated theses that are actively used by Russian propaganda, particularly regarding “external governance.”
In 2023, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office completed an investigation into Derkach on suspicion of treason and illegal enrichment. In addition to the Ukrainian charges, Andriy Derkach is accused in the U.S. of money laundering and violating sanctions imposed on him for facilitating Russia’s interference in the 2020 presidential elections.
In January 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to revoke Andriy Derkach’s Ukrainian citizenship. He is currently wanted.