The Security Service and the National Police exposed a cleric of the UOC-MP (moscow patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church) on illegal alienation of a temple in the Kyiv region.

The property in question is a church building and its outbuildings with an area of almost 500 m² in one of the villages of Boryspil district, worth a total of over UAH 7 million (USD 169,000). All this property belongs to the local community.

According to the investigation, the archimandrite initially ‘donated’ the church buildings to his sister. After acquiring the rights to the real estate, the woman transferred them to a charitable foundation controlled by the said church rector.

Through the affiliated entity, the official planned to solely dispose of the community buildings, having the right, among other things, to sell them to third parties or illegally lease them.

During the searches of the suspect and his relatives, the SSU found computers, phones and documents with evidence of the scam.

The cleric has now been notified of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 191.5 (misappropriation, embezzlement or seizure of property through abuse of office, committed on a particularly large scale);
• 366.1 (forgery).

The investigation is ongoing. The suspect faces up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out by the SSU Office in Kyiv and Kyiv region jointly with the National Police investigators under the procedural supervision of Boryspil District Prosecutor’s Office.