In the Ternopil region, a former official was put on trial for registering a church in the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Kremenets District Court in Ternopil Oblast handed down a guilty verdict against former state registrar Oleksandr Smolinchuk. The official was found guilty, according to , of “making unauthorized changes to state registries,” which allowed for the registration of ownership rights to a religious building in the interests of a religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to Antikor, the investigation established that in November 2020, the defendant, using his official position, entered an entry in the State Register of Real Property Rights regarding the registration of the Church of St. Luke the Apostle in the village of Andruga in the name of the local religious community of the UOC. According to the prosecution, the registration was carried out with gross violations: there were no documents certifying the building’s commissioning, no information regarding the property’s address, and no required requests submitted to the authorities.

In addition, during the trial, it was proven that in October 2022, Smolinchuk allegedly illegally registered private ownership and the right to lease a 2.15-hectare plot of land.

In court, Alexander Smolinchuk fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse. Taking into account his cooperation with the investigation, the court sentenced him to three years of imprisonment with a two-year probationary period and prohibited him from holding positions in government agencies or engaging in registration activities for two years. The former official is also required to reimburse court costs and pay 15,000 hryvnias to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.