Metropolitan of the OCU Drabynko explained where he got the elite house in Pechersk that he sold to Servant of the People deputy Halimon

Metropolitan of the OCU Drabynko explained where he got the elite house in Pechersk that he sold to Servant of the People deputy Halimon

New details have emerged in the high-profile scandal over the purchase of a house in Pechersk in Kyiv. Recall that, according to Ukrainska Pravda, during the war the people's deputy and deputy head of the Servant of the People faction Pavlo Halimon purchased the house for 10 million 300 thousand hryvnias, registering it to another person.

The seller, who turned out to be Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Oleksandr Drabynko, told TSN.ua details about the history of the house and the purchase-and-sale transaction.

He confirmed media reports that his brother and a realtor handled the sale of the house.

“That's how it was. I spent a year trying to sell the house, but no one bought it because the price you could get in 2013 was high. Development happened around it and those who came to see the house were not willing to buy at a price half as much. A buyer was found, at least someone. They paid the price that was offered. I simply had no choice. In 2013 they were offering 4 million dollars for the house. But then I thought I would be at the Lavra, it was nearby, and I didn't intend to sell it. But 10 years passed, it fell into disrepair because no one lived there. By buyers’ standards it was outdated. It lost its value because development had appeared around it; it became unfit for living,” Drabynko told us.

Asked under what circumstances he, Drabynko, became the owner of the elite estate, he replied: “It is an inheritance that was passed to me by the late Metropolitan Volodymyr (Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine – Ed.). The inheritance had all taxes paid at the time and was formalized as a purchase-and-sale.”

Drabynko added: “My view on the fuss: it is my property. I sell to whoever I want and for whatever price I want. It’s my personal business. I think like this: whether I sell a cow or a house — it makes no difference. For how much and to whom. I don’t understand why this caused such a stir. I am not the buyer, I’m the seller. It’s my property.”

In summary, Drabynko added that for all other questions one should contact Pavlo Halimon.

For his part, immediately after the scandal the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, announced on his Telegram channel that Pavlo Halimon would be dismissed from the deputy position.

“If you are a people's deputy and have a couple of extra million hryvnias, you should help your country. It is your duty,” Arakhamia said. “Therefore, of course, the ethical component of this act contradicts our values and our vision of what a people's deputy should be doing during a war. Pavlo Halimon will be dismissed from the position of deputy head of our faction for this. As for other forms of responsibility, we call on law enforcement agencies to start an investigation and give a legal assessment of these events. If the law was broken — then one must be punished for that.”

Meanwhile, when TSN.ua asked Pavlo Halimon to comment on the scandal in which his name figures, he responded rather reservedly: “I am always for objectivity. Let us await the conclusions of law enforcement and then I will provide a comment.”