A business close to Poltava authorities is renting municipal property cheaply

Companies connected to former and current Poltava officials are renting municipal property in Poltava at low prices. This is reported in Natalia Noritsyna’s investigation as part of the joint project “Laboratory of Exposures” with Bihus.Info.

Among the tenants of municipal property are at least 5 firms connected to the circle around the former mayor of the city and current head of the BPP faction in the city council, Andriy Matkovsky.

Another large premises, of almost 400 square meters, on Koryaka, 5 was granted without competition for 10 years to the public organization “Fund for the Support of Local Initiatives of Poltava Region.” The organization was established at the end of 2018 and is linked to Poltava city council deputy from the Ridne Misto party, Taras Boyko, who, incidentally, received his mandate in December 2018. One of the founders and the head of the NGO is Lidiya Nechitaylo, who is the deputy’s mother‑in‑law.

And a huge two‑story building of over 3 000 square meters in the city center — on Hoholya, 22 — was leased to the organization “Development of the Ukrainian City,” whose founders are Poltava city council deputy from Batkivshchyna, Andriy Sokolov, and his wife Iryna. And this is far from the full list of property now controlled by people close to the authorities.

At the same time, the Poltava police have already opened proceedings on the fact of abuse of power and official position over the signing of municipal property lease agreements with reduced rates.

Natalia Noritsyna’s investigation was produced as part of the regional project “Laboratory of Exposures” from Bihus.Info. The full version of the investigation can be read here.