Bihus.Info: Ex-Yanukovych official Kaskiv eyes 800-hectare resort in the Carpathians

Former head of the State Investment Project Vladyslav Kaskiv, backed by MP Serhiy Lyovochkin, is planning to build an all-season resort called Borzhava near the village of Pylypets, according to a Bihus.Info investigation.

The initiative dates back to the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, when it was launched under the name Olympic Hope. It later collapsed amid a corruption scandal and criminal proceedings over the embezzlement of UAH 260 million.

After Yanukovych fled Ukraine, the Pylypets resort project stalled but was gradually revived in 2020. At that time, it was presented by Austrian investor Gernot Leitner, whom NABU considers to be linked to Kaskiv.

The planned resort could cover up to 800 hectares, including:

460 hectares seized in the Olympic Hope case;

25 hectares already registered with easements for ski lift construction;

90 hectares of forest land slated for reclassification as recreational;

240 hectares to be taken from the Temnatyk nature reserve.

Although Kaskiv is acting as project manager, the real funding is believed to come from Lyovochkin and several major businessmen.

Among those spotted at meetings between Kaskiv and Lyovochkin were Ihor Kushnir, former head of Kyivmiskbud, and Valeriy Kodetsky, owner of construction company City One Development. The latter is also a co-owner of Borzhava Center LLC, along with Andriy Vingranovsky (husband of Yulia Lyovochkina) and Renata Huseynova (Kaskiv’s common-law wife).

According to journalists, the project enjoys high-level political support. David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, personally inspected the site, while both the Transcarpathian Regional Council and the regional administration have voiced their backing.

• Kaskiv avoided prosecution over Olympic Hope due to conditions of his extradition from Panama.
• NABU clarified that he was extradited in 2017 in connection with a different case — the alleged embezzlement of UAH 7.45 million in payments for outdoor advertising, investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office. The extradition terms stipulated that he could not be prosecuted for other crimes committed before his return to Ukraine.
• Ten other individuals — mostly former officials of the State Investment Project and the State Investment Company — did go on trial, including Kaskiv’s relatives: his brother Oleksandr Kaskiv and his cousin Oleksandr Matkovskyi. Four of the defendants are currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.