The SBI unmasked a criminal group that had cut down forests for more than UAH 4 million

The SBI unmasked a criminal group that had cut down forests for more than UAH 4 million dbr.gov.ua

Anna Velyka

Dealers can get up to 7 years in prison

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation completed pre-trial investigation and submitted to the court the case against an organized group of 9 people, which only for 5 months of illegal activity cut down about 1 thousand trees in Kirovohrad region. By their actions “black loggers” caused damage to the state for more than 4 million UAH.

About it reports the State bureau of investigations.

In March 2023, the forest master of one of the forestries of the region organized illegal cutting of trees under the guise of sanitary. In accomplices he attracted a senior forest master, a forester and 6 civilian participants who directly cut, removed and sold wood. They used forged invoices to simulate the legality of timber transportation to the customer.

dbr.gov.ua

The group members are accused of illegally cutting down trees in forests, which led to grave consequences, and of official forgery (part 2 of article 27, part 3 of article 27, part 3 of article 28, part 4 of article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, part 2 of article 27, part 3 of article 27, part 3 of article 28, part 2 of article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for punishment of up to 7 years in prison.

The other day, EcoPolitic reported that in Bukovina a scheme of illegal logging worth millions of hryvnia was exposed.

Related
Forest fire in the Carpathians: аctivists suspect arson; police were slow to respond
Forest fire in the Carpathians: аctivists suspect arson; police were slow to respond

A series of explosions was heard before the fire, and Polish tourists saw a suspicious man

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

In which regions of Ukraine is it prohibited to spend time in the woods?
In which regions of Ukraine is it prohibited to spend time in the woods?

In most regions, forest areas are completely off-limits to civilians

The Bern Convention Committee is demanding an explanation from Ukraine regarding the construction of the NMMC in the Markhalivsky Forest
The Bern Convention Committee is demanding an explanation from Ukraine regarding the construction of the NMMC in the Markhalivsky Forest

The committee is also awaiting a plan of measures designed to compensate for the damage caused to wildlife