The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has handed a notice of suspicion to the former director of Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport for alleged abuse of office that caused losses estimated at some $593,000.
Yevheniy Dykhne was the interim general director of Boryspil in 2014-2017 and the first deputy to the general director in 2017-2019. He is now president of Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA).
NABU alleges that, between 2014 and 2019, Dykhne and the head of the airport’s leasing department rented space to private companies for an artificially low price. Two contracts with undisclosed companies allegedly caused losses of Hr 16.5 million (over $593,000) to the airport.
Dykhne could not be reached for comment.
Andriy Guck, partner at the Ante law firm who specializes in legal aspects of aviation, says the case is commercial and not criminal.
As a state enterprise, the airport had to follow the procedure established by the State Property Fund to rent out space, which took at least two months, Guck explains. It was not uncommon that leaseholders — airlines, cafes or retailers — entered into a preliminary contract with the airport while waiting for an assessment from the State Property Fund and the final contract.
“There’s nothing criminal about it,” Guck told the Kyiv Post. “This was a compromise for companies and for the airport. Aviation is a seasonal business. In this way, companies could work, and the airport got income and more services for passengers. It is commercial relations.”
It appears that the difference between the rent price set by the airport in preliminary contracts and the price set by the property fund’s assessment caused the losses identified in the NABU probe.
