The Economic Court of Kyiv has begun reviewing the case filed by the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office against the National Botanical Garden named after M. M. Grishko and a private company.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Essence of the Lawsuit: Protection of State Land and Property
Prosecutors are demanding that the contract be declared invalid, as they believe it poses a threat of illegal alienation of state property and land from the nature reserve fund. This concerns nearly 130 hectares of territory, which is a national monument of garden and park art.
In 2018, the management of the botanical garden signed an agreement with a private firm for the reconstruction of real estate on this territory. Under the terms of this contract, after the completion of the work, most of the area was to be transferred to the ownership of the company, which could lead to the loss of part of the state land and property.
Auditors’ Conclusions and Prosecutor’s Demands
The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office supported the findings of the State Audit Office of Ukraine, which identified risks associated with this contract during its audit of the budget programs executed by the National Academy of Sciences.
“The Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed the audit results regarding the over 2.4 million hryvnias received by the botanical garden from the company. It insists that the contract was concluded in violation of the law, contradicts state interests, and requests the court to declare it invalid and recover the funds received for the state treasury.”
The court is currently reviewing all circumstances of the case to make a decision regarding the legality of the concluded contract and the future of the state land of the botanical garden.