In Zhytomyr region, the court recovered UAH 15.6 million from a company for illegal mining of labradorite

In Zhytomyr region, the court recovered UAH 15.6 million from a company for illegal mining of labradorite shutterstock.com

Illia Fedun

In total, the offenders extracted 5734 cubic meters of rock

In the Zhytomyr region, a court upheld a claim by environmental prosecutors to recover 15.6 million from Galaktik LLC for the illegal development of the Ocheretiansky labradorite deposit.

This was reported by the press service of the prosecutor's office in the Zhytomyr region.

In 2019, the State Environmental Inspection of the Polissya District conducted an inspection of Galaktik LLC's activities. Experts found that after the special permit for extraction was suspended, the company continued to develop the Ocheretny labradorite deposit covering an area of more than 3 hectares in the village of Rudnia, Zhytomyr district.

In total, the company's representatives illegally mined over 5,700 cubic meters of labradorite. After the inspection calculated the damage and confirmed it with a forensic engineering and environmental assessment, the amount of damage caused by the company amounted to over UAH 15.6 million.

The Korostyshiv District Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State Environmental Inspection of the Polissya District against Galaktik LLC to recover damages caused by the illegal extraction of labradorite without the necessary permits.

The Commercial Court of Zhytomyr Region upheld the prosecutor's claim in full. The court decided to recover funds for the illegal use of subsoil resources by Galaktik LLC to the budget of the Chernyakhiv Village Council.

We remind EcoPolitic readers that in the Odesa region, environmental inspectors, together with prosecutors and the Security Service of Ukraine, exposed a group of violators who were illegally extracting sand from the Danube under the guise of dredging.

The defendants in the case were two heads of transport companies and the mayor of the city of Vylkove. Under the guise of dredging, without a special permit for subsoil use, they illegally extracted more than 7,700 cubic meters of sand within the waters of the Ust-Dunaysk seaport.

Related
Weekly roundup of environmental crimes: battling developers, tree felling, and mineral resource theft
Weekly roundup of environmental crimes: battling developers, tree felling, and mineral resource theft

Specifically, in the Kharkiv region, authorities are seeking to impose a fine of over 100 million hryvnias on a company for the illegal extraction of loam and clay

Residents of the Zhytomyr region took to the streets to protest against illegal logging
Residents of the Zhytomyr region took to the streets to protest against illegal logging

People consider police efforts ineffective, and suspect unscrupulous tenants of the illegal logging

Over 1.5 million to the state, 1 million to local communities: "Forests of Ukraine" will have to compensate for the losses
Over 1.5 million to the state, 1 million to local communities: "Forests of Ukraine" will have to compensate for the losses

Fines running into the millions for violations are already becoming commonplace for this state-owned enterprise

Firefighters spent four days battling large-scale fires in the forests of Zhytomyr region
Firefighters spent four days battling large-scale fires in the forests of Zhytomyr region

Firefighting efforts were hampered by the rugged terrain and the risk of the fire spreading