The potential head of the Karpatsky National Park is suspected in corruption

The potential head of the Karpatsky National Park is suspected in corruption shutterstock
Katerina Belousova

The National Park has not had a permanent director since 2019

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Stepan Goshovskyi, a former eco-inspector who was fired for bribery, may be appointed as the new head of the Karpatsky National Nature Park.

He currently works at the Bolekhiv forest farm, where he is probably involved in the illegal purchase of firewood, arbitrary felling and intimidation of local activists, political expert Oleksiy Holobutsky reports on Facebook.

Holobutsky noted that Goshovsky's subordinates were also caught on bribes.

"According to my information, representatives of the Privat group are behind the situation with Karpatskyi, who are inciting the ministry to change the director of the national park. Most likely, the new director will help expand the Bukovel resort at the expense of protected areas," the expert wrote.

He also added that this is not the first attempt to appoint "his" head of the national park. However, the head of Ivano-Frankivsk OVA Svitlana Onyshchuk did not agree with the previous candidate from the ministry.

The National Park has not had a permanent director since 2019.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that personnel changes will take place in the Zakarpattian regional forestry and hunting management to eliminate forest farms ineffective managers and participants in corruption schemes.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Deputy Minister of environmental protection and natural resources of Ukraine Serhiy Vlasenko, who is likely to head the unified state-owned enterprise Forests of Ukraine, may be involved in a lobbying scheme created by Leonid Yurusheva in the woodworking business.

Related
Found over $600,000 in his grandmother's garage: head of State Environmental Inspection explains his wealth
Found over $600,000 in his grandmother's garage: head of State Environmental Inspection explains his wealth

It was not possible to legalize the "inheritance" through the courts either, as he did not receive proof of the existence of these funds during the woman's lifetime

Digest of eco-crimes of the week: large-scale logging, illegal mining, and pollution
Digest of eco-crimes of the week: large-scale logging, illegal mining, and pollution

The most damaging crime is illegal use of subsoil resources

Officials from "Forests of Ukraine" have once again been exposed for complicity in illegal tree felling
Officials from "Forests of Ukraine" have once again been exposed for complicity in illegal tree felling

Forestry workers themselves organize criminal schemes, often involving private entrepreneurs to sell illegal raw materials

Extortion, environmental pollution, and illegal mining: eco-crimes of the week
Extortion, environmental pollution, and illegal mining: eco-crimes of the week

Fires at a landfill and illegal emissions from a heating plant have polluted the air, causing tens of millions of hryvnia in damage