The head and chief accountant of the State Environmental Inspection in Donetsk region will be tried for embezzlement and misappropriation of budget funds in the amount of UAH 2.9 million.
This was reported by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The officials of the State Environmental Inspection were charged in December 2024. According to the prosecutor's office, the scheme involving embezzlement and misappropriation of state funds had been in operation since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In particular, from May 2022 to June 2024, the State Environmental Inspection paid salaries to an employee who had left for Russia and was not performing his duties. The accountant calculated the funds for the employee who was not at work, and the head of the Donetsk Region Environmental Inspection approved the orders for the payment of salaries. According to the investigation, the officials embezzled UAH 2.9 million.
"The head of the inspection issued orders to pay 16 subordinates inflated salaries with allowances and bonuses. The chief accountant demanded that employees transfer approximately 30% of the funds received to their own bank accounts and the accounts of close relatives, covering it up as a collection “to support military personnel,” the prosecutor's office said.
The head of the Donetsk Environmental Inspection and the chief accountant face punishment under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
1) Appropriation and embezzlement of property (Part 5 of Article 191);
2) Crime committed by a group of persons (Part 3 of Article 28);
3) Official forgery (Part 1 of Article 366);
4) Crime committed with the assistance of an organizer and perpetrator (Parts 2 and 3 of Article 27).
Both defendants face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Earlier, EcoPolitic journalists reported that the Cabinet of Ministers had approved a strategy for reforming environmental control in Ukraine until 2029.
What the strategy provides for
1) Elimination of duplicate functions of state environmental supervision in various government agencies. All functions will be performed by a single integrated state environmental control body.
2) Introduction of the principles of proportionality and irreversible responsibility for damage to the environment: violators will not only pay a fine but will also be required to repair the damage caused to the environment.
3) Transformation of the existing bodies of the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine according to ecological-resource and ecological-technogenic principles.
4) Strengthening the material base of the industry, in particular by creating modern measuring laboratories. They will operate according to European standards with a significantly wider range of research and will ensure the collection and proper storage of evidence.
5) A 24/7 rapid response service will be introduced in environmental control bodies. This tool will be tested in pilot projects.
It should be noted that the last time information about the progress of state environmental control reform appeared in the public domain was almost a year ago, in July 2024. At that time, representatives of the Ministry of Environment, together with industry experts, presented to their colleagues from the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the European Commission directorates the draft law No. 3091 “On State Environmental Control,” which was prepared for the second reading. After that, there was silence.
