CEO of Forests of Ukraine granted bail of UAH 91 million: new details on enrichment

CEO of Forests of Ukraine granted bail of UAH 91 million: new details on enrichment derevynnyk.com
Hanna Velyka

Procedural guidance is provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General

In the case of illegal enrichment of Yuriy Bolokhovets, head of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” the Pechersky District Court remanded him in custody with bail set at UAH 90.84 million.

This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), whose employees had previously detained the official and handed him a notice of suspicion.

The suspect is suspected of illegal enrichment in the amount of UAH 7 million 870 thousand.

The pre-trial investigation established that in 2021 alone, the official actually became the owner of:

  • elite real estate in the center of Kyiv;
  • eight land plots;
  • freight vehicles;
  • and significantly increased the amounts of funds in his bank accounts.

According to the SBI, in order to conceal the real origins of the property, the CEO of Lisiv Ukrainy, Yuriy Bolokhovets, resorted to a complex legalization scheme, involving his close associates. For example, he registered a luxury apartment in Pechersk worth over UAH 9 million in the name of a close friend. However, the suspect's wife acted on behalf of the “nominal” owner: she handled all negotiations with the seller, the selection of the property, the conclusion of contracts, and payments.

According to the SBI, Yuriy Bolokhovets used a similar scheme involving front men and fictitious contracts to purchase and register land plots and vehicles. To conceal evidence of corruption, most payments were made in cash or from third-party accounts.

Law enforcement officials say that the legal income of the head of Lisy Ukrainy could not cover even a third of his expenses, and investigators estimated the confirmed difference between his official income and real assets to be at least UAH 7,925,000.

Yuriy Bolokhovets now faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

On July 21, the State Bureau of Investigation announced that it had notified Yuriy Bolokhovets, CEO of the state-owned enterprise Lisy Ukrainy, that he was suspected of illegal enrichment (Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

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