The head of the Regional Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in Kyiv and deputy head of the Main Service Center, Pavel Soroka, allegedly participated in dubious land schemes during his tenure as head of the Malovyska District State Administration (RDA) in the Kirovohrad region, which allowed his family to increase their land bank 3.5 times. This is evidenced by numerous complaints from local farmers and residents of the region regarding abuse of power and pressure aimed at redistributing state land plots in favor of connected companies.
After 2014, the area of agricultural land owned by Pavel Soroka’s family and controlled enterprises — namely the «Kraslyany» farming enterprise and «Sigma» LLC — grew to nearly 1.5 thousand hectares. A significant portion of these assets was registered after the official was appointed head of the Malovyska District State Administration.
Local farmers and combat veterans have repeatedly pointed out non-transparent mechanisms for land allocation in the region. According to them, plots intended for ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation) veterans were distributed according to pre-approved lists, after which they were promptly leased or sold to firms owned by the official’s father.
«Vacant land shares were mostly given to people close to the official, while other farmers were forced to terminate their current lease agreements prematurely,» local residents noted in their appeals.
According to journalistic investigations, the success of the family agribusiness coincided with the career advancement of Pavel Soroka’s close relatives in law enforcement agencies. In particular, the official’s sister is married to Dmytro Storozhuk, who during that period held the position of First Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine under Yuriy Lutsenko.
Dmytro Storozhuk had previously caught the media’s attention due to a high-profile signature on documents in 2016, which allowed Odesa businessman Dmytro Malynovskyi, suspected of large-scale financial fraud, to fake his own death and hide from justice abroad.
Despite numerous complaints regarding land manipulation in the Kirovohrad region, Pavel Soroka continued his career in public service. Experts link his appointment to a leadership position at the capital’s MIA service center to his family’s influential connections, as Yuriy Lutsenko also previously headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Currently, no official comments have been issued by Pavel Soroka or representatives of the Main Service Center of the MIA regarding the allegations of abuse of power in his previous role.