Foresters from Bukovyna will stand trial for illegal logging during the war

Foresters from Bukovyna will stand trial for illegal logging during the war shutterstock
Katerina Belousova

To legalize the illegally obtained income, the perpetrator bought a new luxury car

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have finished pre-trial investigation of the forester and senior foreman of the Berehomet Forestry in Bukovina, who organized a "forestry scheme" worth 2.2 million hryvnias.

Illegal logging was organized in April 2022, reports the Terupravlinnia DBR in Khmelnytskyi on Facebook.

It is noted that the criminal group also included a senior forest foreman and two civilians, the investigation of which is separated into a separate proceeding. One of them fully admits his guilt, another is wanted.

"During the felling of the forest, the senior foreman deliberately indicated in the documents a smaller volume of felled wood in order to "profit" from the surplus in the future," the press service reports.

The DBR added that the illegal cubic meters were issued to the private firm of the sister of one of the participants in the scheme. They also produced fictitious delivery documents. The forester distributed the money received from the sale of wood among all participants of the scheme.

It is noted that in order to legalize the illegally obtained income, the perpetrator bought a new luxury car, which he registered for a distant relative. Currently, this car and other property of the participants have been seized to compensate for the damages caused to the state.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in August in Chernivtsi region, suspected 5 former employees of Berehomet Forestry Farm, who caused losses to the state of over 2 million hryvnias, were reported.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, black loggers in the Sarnensky District of Rivne Oblast destroyed 977 trees, which caused 2.9 million hryvnias worth of damage.

Related
Farmers are burning grass in the fields, and forests are burning. Why are foresters stepping up fire prevention measures?
Farmers are burning grass in the fields, and forests are burning. Why are foresters stepping up fire prevention measures?

Forest rangers are forced to extinguish fires in the fields to prevent the flames from reaching the trees

Just 850 UAH for a felled tree. Experts explain why fines aren't working
Just 850 UAH for a felled tree. Experts explain why fines aren't working

Activists are calling for higher fines and criminal penalties for violations

In the Carpathians, a forest containing valuable plant species is being cleared to build a power line to a wind farm
In the Carpathians, a forest containing valuable plant species is being cleared to build a power line to a wind farm

Unlike environmental activists, foresters did not notice any endangered plants there

Environmental crimes of the week: privatization of nature reserves, protection of primeval forests, pollution costing millions
Environmental crimes of the week: privatization of nature reserves, protection of primeval forests, pollution costing millions

Due to criminal conspiracies led by forestry officials, thousands of trees continue to be illegally cut down in Ukraine