The Main Investigative Directorate of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has closed the criminal case involving Oleksandr Kvatyrko, the former head of the Polissya Forest Office and chief operating officer of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.” The reason cited was the absence of a criminal offense.
This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism “The Power of Truth,” citing a ruling by the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv.
What the former chief forester of Volyn and Rivne regions was accused of
The criminal case against the official was opened in February 2024. That same year, he resigned from his position as director of the Polissya Forest Office and worked for some time as the operations director of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.”
According to the investigation, the assets acquired by Kvatyrko and his associates over the past few years could have exceeded the former official’s official income by nearly 10 million hryvnias.
The investigation materials referred to real estate, cars, and other property that was allegedly registered in the names of relatives and other trusted individuals. In particular, court rulings mentioned five apartments and three garages in new buildings in Lutsk, as well as at least five cars. Part of this property was seized by the end of 2024 as part of the investigation. However, over the course of six months, the lawyers worked to have some of these restrictions lifted. In late April, the court lifted the seizure on two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and some of the property seized during the searches.
Career background of Oleksandr Kvatyrko
It should be recalled that Kvatyrko entered the forestry sector in 2003. From 2015 to 2022, he headed the Volyn Regional Forestry and Hunting Administration. In 2022, he became the head of the Polissia Forest Office. In December 2024, he was promoted to the position of chief operations officer of the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine". In July 2025, he resigned.
Accusations of illicit enrichment and abuse of power have been periodically raised against Kvatyrko by both journalists and owners of woodworking businesses. For instance, in March 2021, Oleksandr Misiura, owner of Verba-VV LLC, accused a number of heads of forestry and hunting management, among whom was Kvatyrko, of corruption and non-transparent conduct of their activities.
In November 2024, reporters from “Syla Pravdy” alleged that the director of the Polissia Forest Office was illegally transferring land plots and property at state forestry enterprises under his jurisdiction into private ownership by acquaintances.
At the beginning of this year, reports appeared indicating that a criminal case had been opened in Volyn region over a house built near Lake Chervyshche on the site of a felled young forest. At that time, journalists associated the construction with former head of the Polissia Forest Office Oleksandr Kvatyrko.
