Ex-forester from Sloviansk forestry accused of deforestation worth hundreds of thousands of hryvnias shutterstock

Ex-forester from Sloviansk forestry accused of deforestation worth hundreds of thousands of hryvnias

Katerina Belousova

He faces up to 7 years in prison

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have served a notice of suspicion to a former employee of the Slavic Forestry Enterprise for illegal deforestation, which caused damage worth UAH 700,000.

The violation occurred in March 2023 in the Bilozersk forestry, the SBI press service reports.

It is noted that the former forester organized deforestation in an area that is not part of his service area. He involved his acquaintances in the case, who did not know about the illegality of the felling.

"During the "work" they were noticed by representatives of one of the volunteer groups and reported to law enforcement," the statement said.

The press service said that at the crime scene, SBI officers seized the wood and a KrAZ truck, which was handed over to the military.

It is noted that the forensic economic examination estimated the damage from the felling at almost 700 thousand hryvnias. The forester has now been dismissed from his position.

The press service added that the offender faces up to 7 years in prison. He was notified of being suspected under Part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Donetsk Oblast, the utility company Slovmiskvodokanal, thanks to a court decision, reimbursed almost UAH 1.4 million for polluting the Kazennyi Torets River with sewage.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, in Lviv region, the deputy head of the regional forestry department and seven heads of forestry enterprises were notified of suspicion for illegal logging of rare forests, which caused damage of more than UAH 64 million.

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