In Ukraine’s forestry sector, there is likely to be a multi-million-strong ‘shadow’ Excel spreadsheet scheme involving current and former officials. This is according to insider sources. So far, there has been no official confirmation. However, anti-corruption media outlets have consistently exposed abuses by key figures, hinting at a ‘grey area’ where decisions are made — both regarding personnel appointments and illegal financial dealings.
Analysts at "StopCor" discussed this in their article.
$50 million in cash every month
Information has emerged on the Telegram channel ‘Vykryvach’ regarding a possible informal scheme in the forestry sector, under which there were plans to collect $50 million in cash each month. According to the channel, this target was set for the new management of the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ following the reform of the organisation. The cash flow was to be generated from a percentage of timber sales and through the implementation of personnel decisions.
However, the plan was not implemented. This was probably prevented by the intervention of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the suspension of officials.
"A separate part of the inside story concerns Taras Vysotskyi, Ihor Zubovych and the head of the State Forestry Agency, Viktor Smal. According to sources speaking to Vykryvach, problems with carrying out informal tasks were allegedly attributed to Smal’s activities — it was claimed that he was hindering certain processes. Smal was suspended,” writes Vykryvach.
Personnel chaos and criminal cases
The State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ is one of the state’s largest assets. However, in recent years it has changed leadership three times — from 26 October 2022, the head of the enterprise was Ihor Litsur; from 4 June 2023, it was Yurii Bolokhovets; and since 1 July 2026, Ihor Zubovych has been acting in this role on an interim basis, pending a recruitment process for the post and an audit of ‘Forests of Ukraine’s’ financial statements.
At the same time, the activities of the State Enterprise are constantly marred by high-profile criminal cases. In particular, the SBU uncovered schemes involving the sale of premium timber at the Slobozhansky Forest Office. It should be noted that officials from ‘Forests of Ukraine’ — ranging from forestry enterprise managers to forest foremen — also frequently feature in digests of environmental crimes published by EcoPolitika.
However, the inside information from ‘The Whistleblower’ is on a much larger scale and concerns systematic shadow activities, rather than isolated incidents in individual businesses and branches.
Officially confirmed details
When ‘Forests of Ukraine’ became a single state-owned enterprise, it was headed by Yuriy Bolokhovets. Law enforcement agencies had previously raised questions about him. According to the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Office of the Prosecutor General, he may have acquired over 7.9 million hryvnias without declaring it. The High Anti-Corruption Court refused to quash the charges, but in March 2026, the proceedings in the case of illicit enrichment were halted following a decision by the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
Investigative journalists from the media outlets ZN.ua and OBOZ.UA reported that, following Zubovich’s appointment, Bolokhovets allegedly sought to have him removed and to secure his own reinstatement.
The aforementioned ‘Vykryvach’ channel reported that Bolokhovets was apparently the first of the senior officials to hear about the plan to supply cash and “initially took it as a joke”. Implementing such instructions became difficult following the reform of the sector.
"The question arises: where could the shadowy ‘curators’ of the forestry sector have obtained such sums (we are talking about 50 million dollars) in cash? One might assume that so-called ‘conversion centres’ could have been involved in such a scheme, converting these funds into ‘cash’. And $50 million is literally cubic metres, half a tonne of cash – the figure seems simply staggering. How could such transactions have gone unnoticed by the State Financial Monitoring Service and the relevant supervisory authorities?” comments investigative journalist Roman Lytvyn.
Shadow curator
It appears from the ‘Whistleblower’s’ post that there is allegedly a shadowy centre within Ukraine’s forestry sector responsible for decisions on the appointment of senior managers. Various publications have suggested that Viktor Smal may be involved in this centre. He allegedly sought to bring about a change in the state-owned enterprise’s leadership, together with Bolokhovets, after both had already been removed from their posts.
Джерело: OBOZ.UA / СтопКор
As a reminder, on 1 July, the government suspended Smaly from his post as head of the State Forestry Agency. This was due to the opening of disciplinary proceedings.
"Here, too, we can recall the version set out in the ‘Whistleblower’ post: according to the channel’s sources, the failure to meet the informal financial plan was allegedly attributed to ‘interference’ on Smal’s part, after which he was removed from his post," StopCor emphasises.
The disciplinary proceedings were due to be concluded on 8 August. However, there is no official information on this, nor are there any results.
Criminal matters for the Minister’s attention
Another figure implicated in the insider trading case is Taras Vysotskyi, who has headed the re-established Ministry of Agrarian Policy since 16 July. He was appointed to this high-ranking post whilst facing unresolved allegations from the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). The allegations relate to the abuse of his official position, amounting to 62 million hryvnias, through the overpricing of foodstuffs during the procurement process.
This is part of the background to the head of the ministry currently in charge of the State Forestry Agency. ‘StopCor’ adds that, in effect, the official has been granted the power to influence appointments within the forestry sector.
Regional context
All these reshuffles and the mixed reputation of senior officials are taking place against a backdrop of abuses in the regions. For instance, the media report on the systematic under-valuation of timber at the Slobozhansky Forestry Office. According to a source, the director of the branch, Ivan Hryshko, was the key figure in the scheme.
Things are not entirely above board at the ‘Capital Forestry Office’ either. An investigation has been launched into its director, Serhiy Zayets, in connection with possible fictitious deals worth tens of millions of hryvnias.
EcoPolitics previously reported that in 2025 alone, offences committed by officials in the forestry sector cost the state 546 million hryvnias. At the same time, ‘Forests of Ukraine’ continues to pay fines running into millions due to the inefficiency of foresters, which leads to illegal logging.
