Prosecutor General's Office challenges contract for development of 130 ha of Mykola Hryshko Botanical Garden

The fate of 129.8 hectares of land belonging to the nature reserve fund and held in use by the Mykola M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden may change. On 3 December 2026, the Northern Appellate Commercial Court will hear an appeal by the Office of the Prosecutor General against the first-instance decision. Law enforcement agencies are attempting to invalidate a 2018 contract between the botanical garden and KSM-Development LLC, which provides for the reconstruction of facilities at 1 Sadovo-Botanichna Street (formerly Tymyriazivska Street) in Kyiv's Pecherskyi district.

Court proceedings: from first instance to appeal

On 3 June 2026, the Kyiv Commercial Court denied the Prosecutor General's Office's claim. First-instance judges ruled that the disputed agreement did not contain the characteristics of a joint activity contract, which would have required approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. The court also noted that the botanical garden does not contribute assets or funds to a joint fund, and the land plot is not its contribution to the project.

However, apparently, one of the key reasons for the court's position was that the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) independently initiated the termination of the disputed agreement. In a letter dated 12 August 2025, the Academy of Sciences informed the Prosecutor General's Office of measures taken to terminate the contract, citing public resonance and the fact that the actual implementation of the project had not yet begun. The case is currently under review by the appellate instance.

Terms of the disputed contract and parties' positions

The contract was signed on 5 October 2018. Under it, KSM-Development LLC obtained the right (or obligation) to reconstruct buildings and structures on the plot, which has been in the permanent use of the botanical garden since 2005. In exchange for the opportunity to "develop" this territory, the company committed to transferring a certain number of square metres in the reconstructed buildings or residential space in other company facilities in Kyiv to the botanical garden, as well as the reconstructed seed fund building. The project duration was 10 years: 1 year for design work, 8 years for reconstruction, and 1 year for commissioning the facilities.

The Prosecutor General's Office insists that the agreement has the characteristics of joint activity that was not approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, and its execution would lead to the illegal transfer of ownership rights to newly built facilities from a state institution to a private company and the alienation of particularly valuable lands. Prosecutors are also demanding the recovery of UAH 2.4 million from the botanical garden to the state budget—funds received from KSM-Development LLC.

Representatives of the Botanical Garden and KSM-Development LLC dispute these arguments. They claim that the goal of obtaining shares in ownership is not joint, so Cabinet of Ministers approval was not required. They also emphasise that the contract does not provide for the alienation of the land plot, and construction was necessitated by the urgent need to improve the garden's material and technical base. The NASU stressed that as of the date the lawsuit was filed, the plot had not changed its status and had not been removed from state ownership.

Audit and criminal proceedings

In 2023, the State Audit Service conducted an inspection of the Botanical Garden's activities. In January 2025, auditors published data on possible violations: a land plot belonging to the nature reserve fund became the subject of an investment agreement providing for the construction of residential and non-residential buildings. "For 6 years, the developer has been unable to implement the agreement precisely due to the special protection regime of the National Botanical Garden's territory. Meanwhile, during this time, the institution received cash, services, and other goods (including tulip bulbs and soil) worth UAH 2.6 million from the investor. It is worth noting that the Mykola M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden is part of Ukraine's nature reserve fund, is an object of comprehensive protection, and belongs to lands of natural and historical-cultural purpose, which are protected as the state's national heritage. The Law 'On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine' prohibits any economic or other activity that contradicts the reserve's intended purpose, in particular the construction of structures not related to its functioning," – the State Audit Service stated in its report.

KSM-Development LLC challenged these conclusions in court, demanding protection of its business reputation. However, on 8 September 2026, the Cassation Commercial Court denied the company's claim, supporting the position that the auditors' statements were clear to a wide audience and did not contain false information.

In addition to civil litigation, the National Police is investigating criminal case No. 42025102060000141 dated 11 September 2025. Law enforcement agencies are checking for violations in the conclusion of similar contracts by various NASU structures. Court rulings note that the contract terms do not specify the area of the plot and the objects of reconstruction, as well as the share of assets the botanical garden is to receive. "The territory of the Botanical Garden with all its natural resources, which amounts to 129.86 ha, is part of the nature reserve fund (NRF) and is protected as national heritage, for which a special regime of protection, reproduction, and use has been established in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine 'On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine'. Any activity on this territory that is not related to the performance of tasks assigned to the botanical garden and threatens the preservation of flora collections is prohibited. And according to the Land Code of Ukraine, the land of the Botanical Garden belongs to particularly valuable lands. That is, the transfer of part of the botanical garden's plot with the permission of the NASU for the construction of residential and/or non-residential real estate contradicts the requirements of current legislation, and further implementation of the contract will lead to illegal development of NRF lands," – the ruling states.

Who is behind the project

KSM-Development LLC was registered in September 2014. The company's head is Nataliia Vozna, and the founders are sisters Olha and Tetiana Chernenko from Bila Tserkva. According to Youcontrol data, the company is part of the "KSM-Group" corporate group, which unites about 60 enterprises in the construction sector. Key figures in the group are Arsenii and Serhii Kopystry, Nataliia Vozna, as well as Olha and Tetiana Chernenko.

Arsenii Kopystry is the son-in-law of Mykhailo Verbenkyi – a colonel-general of the police, former head of the Main Staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2005–2007, 2014–2015), former member of the Central Election Commission (2018), and former head of the State Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2010–2025). Until 2020, Arsenii Kopystry taught at the T. H. Shevchenko Kyiv National Institute.

His brother Serhii Kopystry is involved in another high-profile case. He is one of the defendants in the case of offering improper benefit to former Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov for "help" in developing land at 43 Tyraspilska Street. Serhii Kopystry, who called himself the de facto owner of Citygaservice LLC, asked Kubrakov not to terminate the contract for the construction of a residential complex and to provide other services, promising to increase the size of the bribe in addition to 15 apartments that had already been "transferred" to his "trusted person".

Developers from the "KSM-Group" orbit are actively operating on NASU lands. In particular, in the Feofaniya area (Holosiivskyi district), 4 out of 5 residential complexes of the "KSM-Group" developer are being built. These projects are accompanied by public protests and court hearings. In January 2022, companies close to "KSM-Group" demolished the NASU dormitory on Metrolichna Street, where people were living, during which a violent confrontation occurred between local residents and some individuals whom public activists called "titushky" (thugs).

A separate scandal arose around a 5.68 ha plot at 65 Akademika Hlushkova Avenue. The land user is the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the NASU, which in 2018 transferred the territory to Yuh-Proekt LLC ("KSM-Group" orbit). The public is against the construction of buildings because the plot is a forest area of the "Teremky" locality. Law enforcement agencies initiated lawsuits to preserve this territory.

Law enforcement agencies are also investigating possible violations in the development of 4.94 ha at 5 Vasyl Stepanchenko Street (Akademmistechko). Recently, the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) notified two Academy officials and the former director of Navium-2008 LLC of suspicion of abuse of office. The damage to the state amounts to UAH 2.3 million due to the use of land not for its intended purpose (it is actually an industrial zone). Previously, the developer in question managed to obtain a court ruling allowing the construction of buildings up to 100 metres high on this land, although the Kyiv City State Administration (KCDA) initially "permitted" no more than 45 metres.

"KSM-Group" also has interests in the development of six plots totalling over 6 ha on Antonovycha Street. Invest-Proekt Budivnytstvo LLC is seeking to cancel restrictions to avoid coordinating the project with cultural heritage protection authorities (the territory contains the historical building of Yevhen Paton) and to build up to 100 metres high. The Prosecutor General's Office demands the cancellation of urban planning conditions, the return of the land to the state, and the termination of the contract with the Institute of Electric Welding of the NASU. Recently, the court prohibited construction work on these plots during the legal dispute, and a company from the "KSM-Group" orbit was named the general contractor.

Institutional leadership

Since September 2026, the Mykola M. Hryshko Botanical Garden has been headed by Dzhamal Rahmetov, who has worked at the institution since 1986. He replaced Nataliia Zaimenko, who had led the botanical garden since January 2005. Anatoliy Zahorodnyi has been the President of the NASU since October 2020. His predecessor was Yevhen Paton, who died in August 2020. Valentyna Pelykh has headed the KCDA Department of Land Resources since 29 June 2021; she is a suspect in another case regarding the possible seizure of a land plot under the observation wheel at Kontraktova Square. The sphere of land relations in the capital is also controlled by Deputy Head of the KCDA Vladyslav Andronov.