Unidentified persons are interfering with the activities of the Mezhyhirya State Park and Monument and blocking its work

Today, April 29, the process of transferring assets seized in the criminal proceedings over former President Yanukovych's cases after the Revolution of Dignity to the state began at Mezhyhiria State Park.

An interdepartmental commission consisting of representatives of the special administration of the Mezhyhirya Park-Monument, together with the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), with the participation of representatives of the State Property Fund of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, arrived at the park-monument, located in the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Vyshhorod district, Kyiv region, and were to begin the process of transferring the seized property, which was transferred to the management of ARMA by a court decision. It should be noted that this property was seized in the framework of criminal proceedings, the pre-trial investigation of which was carried out by NABU detectives under the procedural guidance of SAPO prosecutors. It is an investigation into the facts of misappropriation of property located on the territory of the Mezhyhirya tract by the former president.

Checking the availability and inspection of the Mezhyhirya property is the first stage of the process of transferring the seized assets to the management of the state institution Park - Monument of Landscape Gardening Art of National Importance Mezhyhirya.

At the same time, unidentified persons have blocked the entrance to the state park-monument and are not allowing members of the interdepartmental commission to enter the territory, making it impossible for it to work.

To ensure that the newly created facility operates in the interests of the state within the legal framework, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Order №321-r in April 2024on the transfer of assets seized in criminal proceedings to the state institution Mezhyhiria Park - a monument of landscape gardening art of national importance.

In particular, the state institution Mezhyhiria National Park should be given the management of movable property located on the state land of the park and which is part of the infrastructure of the park complex and is used in heat, electricity, water supply and sewage, as well as in the protection of the park complex. In other words, this is property located on state land and ensuring the smooth operation of a state institution.

 According to this document, other seized property, such as garden equipment, furniture, paintings, museum interiors, etc., should also be transferred to the state.

Mezhyhiria State Park and Monument is the official user of the land plots for which property rights have been registered and the data has been entered into both the State Land Cadastre and the State Register of Real Property Rights.

"Blocking the work of the interagency commission is groundless and contrary to Ukrainian law. The state authorities are acting in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and the Government's decision authorizing them to transfer the seized assets to the management of the state institution "Mezhyhirya Park - a monument of landscape gardening art of national importance". So, regardless of any obstacles, this process will take place, and the park-monument will start its work for the benefit of the state," emphasized Sergiy Yuzvenko, acting director of the park-monument.

As previously reported, since 2014 and on his own initiative, an individual, a representative of a non-governmental organization, has been responsible for the storage of the seized property of Mezhyhiria, which is located in the park and has been managing it for more than 10 years.

We emphasize that in 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the law. It returned Mezhyhiria to state ownership and created a new object of the nature reserve fund on 138.6 hectares of state-owned land with the official name of the park-monument of landscape gardening art of national importance "Mezhyhiria". This decision started the process of transforming the former government residence into a state park-monument of landscape architecture of national importance. This designation is given to the most outstanding and valuable objects of park construction. The lands of the newly created state park-monument are designated as lands of the nature reserve fund. The activities of the Mezhyhiria National Park are coordinated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

In 2014, immediately after the Revolution of Dignity, activists voluntarily became responsible for the preservation of the seized property of the former residence, which is evidence in the criminal cases of former President Yanukovych after the Revolution of Dignity. For this purpose, the activists subsequently created a non-profit public organization, NPU Mezhyhiria, and for more than 10 years have been managing the seized property, earning income from the sale of entrance tickets and commercial activities.

We remind you that the official opening of the Mezhyhiria State Park is scheduled for May.