5 forestry officials will be tried for cutting down trees worth tens of millions of hryvnias

5 forestry officials will be tried for cutting down trees worth tens of millions of hryvnias shutterstock
Katerina Belousova

Perpetrators face imprisonment for 7 to 10 years

In Vinnytsia, the prosecutor's office informed 5 officials from the management of the forestry and hunting management district and Kryzhopol forestry of suspicion of exceeding their official powers, which caused serious consequences.

They are suspected of illegal felling of trees worth about 87 million hryvnias, the press service reports Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor's Office.

If the court finds them guilty, the officials face imprisonment for a term of 7 to 10 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years.

"The pre-trial investigation is carried out by investigators of the fourth investigative department (located in Vinnytsia) of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation, located in Khmelnytskyi. "Currently, the question of selecting preventive measures for the suspects and removing them from their positions is being resolved," the press service said.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Lviv region the SSU exposed several officials from the forest farm, who earned on the appropriation and sale of high-grade wood in wartime conditions.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, a fish inspector from Odesa will be tried for systematic bribery, which the man demanded for fishing permits in the waters of the Shabolat estuary during spawning.

Related
Weekly round-up of environmental crimes: illegal logging worth over 100 million hryvnias, poaching and the protection of nature reserves
Weekly round-up of environmental crimes: illegal logging worth over 100 million hryvnias, poaching and the protection of nature reserves

"Forests of Ukraine" continues to pay local authorities for inadequate forest protection

A national forest inventory is to be carried out in Ukraine
A national forest inventory is to be carried out in Ukraine

Around 2.9 million hectares of woodland have suffered damage of varying degrees as a result of the war

Millions of hryvnias spent on fines instead of reforestation: a new trend
Millions of hryvnias spent on fines instead of reforestation: a new trend

Foresters talk a great deal about the profits in their sector. But when it comes to how much their mistakes cost the state, they prefer to keep quiet

Logging for power lines in the Carpathians has been suspended following the discovery of rare species
Logging for power lines in the Carpathians has been suspended following the discovery of rare species

From the outset, community environmental experts described the survey carried out prior to the felling as a sham