Instead of winding up a mining company in the Kirovohrad region, the arbitration administrator organised the illegal extraction of minerals from the Sukhokliivskyi deposit on a staggering scale. As a result, the region’s Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office served him with a notice of suspicion. The case is already being described as one of the most high-profile in the field of subsoil protection.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
As investigators discovered, work did not cease even after the special permit for subsoil use had expired. To conceal the criminal activity, it was carried out under the guise of clearing hazardous sections of the quarry.
At least 12 blasting operations were carried out over several years to extract granite. This enabled the illegal extraction of over 375,000 cubic metres of rock of national importance from Ukrainian subsoil.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
Extensive Investigation
The scale of this crime required massive efforts from investigators. To uncover, document, and assess the illegal actions, law enforcement officers seized production and financial documentation, tracked the movement of illegally extracted granite, and ordered several complex expert examinations. All materials are contained in 74 volumes of the criminal case.
Overall, the state suffered losses totaling more than UAH 1.2 billion due to this illegal activity.
In Cherkasy region, illegal sand extraction resulted in state losses of UAH 750 million. As previously reported by EcoPolitic, the operations were conducted on an industrial scale using specialized equipment and a dredger.
