Police and Prosecutor General's Office investigating alleged underestimation of value of Ocean Plaza shopping center by SPF before sale

The police and the Prosecutor General's Office are investigating the involvement of officials of the State Property Fund (SPF) in the alleged underestimation of the value of the Ocean Plaza shopping center before the sale.

This was announced in the Prosecutor General's Office, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office is investigating criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of power or official position, which caused serious consequences. It is about possible abuses during the preparation for the sale of the Ocean Plaza shopping center, an asset charged to state revenue by the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

According to the investigation, some officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine could act in the interests of representatives of commercial structures to create conditions for the sale of this asset to a predetermined business entity at an artificially low price.

In particular, during the investigation, the facts of possible influence on the procedure of evaluation of the shopping center, formation of the starting price of the auction, determination of sales conditions and limitation of the circle of potential buyers are checked, which may lead to the sale of a state asset at a price that does not correspond to its real market value and cause losses to the state budget of Ukraine.

On June 18, searches were conducted at the residences of individual officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.

During the investigative actions, documents that may be important for the investigation were seized. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in 2022, the Office of the Prosecutor General handed over the Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center to the National Agency for Search, Management and Management of Seized Assets.