Questions Raised Over Poroshenko’s Role In Valuable Kyiv Land Deal
▻http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-poroshenko-land-deal-questions-tsars-village/27013945.html
An investigation by RFE/RL shows that Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko may have used his presidential influence to shut down investigations into a land deal aimed at building a private mansion on a historic site in the Ukrainian capital.
Two reports broadcast on RFE/RL’s Ukrainian-language television program, Schemes, reveal that over the course of seven years, Poroshenko quietly appropriated more than a hectare of protected land in Kyiv’s elite Pechera district and recently quashed an inquiry into the damage of an 18th-century structure caused by construction work on his plot.
The revelations come as Poroshenko, soon to mark his first year in office, faces growing criticism for failing to divest his billion-dollar business holdings and diminish the political influence of Ukrainian oligarchs like Dmytro Firtash, who last week claimed he personally orchestrated Poroshenko’s rise to the presidency.