The official will be tried for more than 100 million damage caused to the Poltava community

The official will be tried for more than 100 million damage caused to the Poltava community Shutterstock

Anna Velyka

He faces imprisonment for 5 to 8 years

Prosecutors of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Poltava Regional Prosecutor's Office handed over to the court an indictment against the former director of one of the local societies, who without a special permit organized sand mining, which caused damage of more than 105 million UAH.

This was reported in the Poltava regional prosecutor's office.

During November 2019 – July 2023 years, the company, which was led by the accused, without a special permit for the use of subsoil extracted almost 94 thousand cubic meters of sand from the Kolomak River. Such actions of the enterprise caused more than 105 million UAH of losses to the Poltava territorial community.

Prosecutors incriminate the person involved in the violation of the established rules for the use of subsoil through the illegal extraction of minerals of national importance, which entailed grave consequences (part 4 of article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.

The other day Ecopolitics reported that ecologists warned about systematic problems with subsoil use permits.

In May, we told that an agricultural company from Zhytomyr Oblast got caught on illegal sand mining for almost 5 million hryvnias.

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The estimated amount of damage caused stands at 65.7 million hryvnias, although the investigations are still ongoing

Work at the andesite quarry in Zakarpattia is continuing without an environmental permit, but the court has refused to halt it
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The company even acquired more than 32 hectares of woodland under an easement, but the court saw no grounds for returning it to the state

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Most of the crimes uncovered involve foresters implicated in illegal logging, the embezzlement of public funds and negligence, which is causing damage to the forests

The State Bureau of Investigation has launched a special operation, ‘Green Shield’, to tackle forestry corruption and illegal logging
The State Bureau of Investigation has launched a special operation, ‘Green Shield’, to tackle forestry corruption and illegal logging

The Bureau is identifying all those involved and intends to ensure that the millions in losses are recouped