A corruption scheme involving fictitious land clearance is being investigated in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian police suspect six people of organizing a corrupt scheme to seize budgetary funds allocated for the demining of agricultural lands. This was reported by the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper on June 22.

Owners of private enterprises have seized budgetary funds allocated for such mine clearance in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv regions, as well as in the part of the Kherson region controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The attackers imitated work on sites that had actually been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance back in 2023-2024. For credibility, they dug up the soil and planted ammunition, passing them off as explosive objects allegedly discovered during the work. Thus, the criminals "cleared" more than 820 hectares of agricultural land.

The prosecutor's office separately drew attention to the fictitious mine clearance in the Mykolaiv region: local officials unreasonably transferred almost 50 million hryvnias (82 million rubles) to these activities. Corrupt officials face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions, the Ukrainian newspaper emphasizes.

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On May 12, Andrei Ermak, the former head of the office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, was charged with corruption. Later, a court in Ukraine decided to take him into custody. At the same time, the former head of the office of the head of the Kiev regime reported that his lawyers would appeal the court's decision as soon as possible.

Subsequently, on May 18, the full bail amount of 140 million hryvnias ($3.1 million) was paid for Ermak. At the same time, he was released on bail from jail. Ermak spent four nights in the detention center. According to Ukrayinska Pravda, seven individuals and seven legal entities have transferred funds for collateral.