Officials from the Kyiv region were exposed in a large-scale peat extraction scheme

Officials from the Kyiv region were exposed in a large-scale peat extraction scheme
Katerina Belousova

The perpetrators sold 1,800 tons of covering mixture made from peat

Deputies of one of the local councils of the Kyiv region and three of her accomplices were informed of the suspicion of illegal extraction of peat for 2.2 million hryvnias and laundering of these funds.

Peat was mined under the guise of cleaning the channel beds of the reclamation system in Chernihiv Oblast, reports Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, the deputy and director of the enterprise, together with its founder and two acquaintances, organized illegal peat extraction. The suspect also organized the processing of peat and sold it, concluding contracts with entrepreneurs in the real sector of the economy.

It is noted that the scheme worked from October 2022 to March 2023. During this time, the perpetrators sold 1,800 tons of covering mixture made of peat.

"At the moment, the question of choosing precautionary measures for the suspect is being resolved," the press service said.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in the Kyiv region, the prosecutor's office submitted to the court an indictment against a resident of the Buchan district for illegal extraction of 240 m3 of sand.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, four former general directors of the state-owned enterprise "Volynvugillia" will be tried in Volyn, under whose leadership losses from illegal mining of minerals reached 1.17 billion hryvnias. From 2018 to 2022, the company mined 132,400 tons of coal without a special permit.

Related
Theft of natural resources worth hundreds of millions, land contamination, deforestation: this week’s environmental crimes
Theft of natural resources worth hundreds of millions, land contamination, deforestation: this week’s environmental crimes

Due to a conspiracy involving the directors of transportation companies, the mayor, and the state registrar, the environment suffered losses of over 180 million hryvnias

A vast swamp in the Rivne region will not be made available for peat extraction
A vast swamp in the Rivne region will not be made available for peat extraction

We are talking about more than 2,300 hectares of wetland ecosystem bordering the nature reserve

The government is turning a blind eye to the destruction of nature caused by dolomite mining in the Zhytomyr region
The government is turning a blind eye to the destruction of nature caused by dolomite mining in the Zhytomyr region

Experts are convinced that, in the absence of a response from the authorities, an approach like the one in Negrebivka is likely to spread across the entire country

Smallpox and landslides: Protests against a quarry development in Vinnytsia Oblast
Smallpox and landslides: Protests against a quarry development in Vinnytsia Oblast

The company denies all allegations, citing responses from government agencies