A scheme of illegal logging for millions of hryvnias was exposed in Bukovyna shutterstock

A scheme of illegal logging for millions of hryvnias was exposed in Bukovyna

Anna Velyka

Fraudsters face up to 10 years in prison

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation reported suspicion of the forester and two foremen of Beregomet forestry in Chernivtsi region, who illegally cut wood for almost 3.7 million hryvnias.

About it reports the State Bureau of Investigation.

Officials forged documents on the need for sanitary and selective felling of trees that were healthy and not subject to felling. In addition, they indicated inaccurate information about the condition and volume of felled timber in the documents in order to artificially create an excess of timber.

According to the documents, the direct felling of the forest was carried out by a private firm of the forester's sister. He himself managed the work on her behalf and concluded contracts with the leskhoz. Thus the fraudsters cut down and sold 206 trees. They caused damage to the state for 3 million 700 thousand hryvnias.

The forester and foremen are suspected of exceeding official authority, which entailed grave consequences, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, forgery of official duties, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, and illegal cutting of trees in forests, committed repeatedly, which entailed grave consequences, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (h 2 Art. 28, Part 3, Art. 365, Part 2, Art. 28, Part 2, Art. 366, Part 4, Art.

Perpetrators can be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Cabinet of Ministers created another threat to the Ukrainian environment thanks to Resolution No. 454 “Some issues of forestry management during the period of martial law and introducing changes in the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated May 12, 2007 No. 724,” which the government approved on April 23. We also cited 6 main reasons for illegal tree cutting that are not related to war.