Last year was full of corruption scandals and high-profile exposés. Sometimes, the amounts of illegally obtained profits by environmental officials amounted to tens or even hundreds of millions of hryvnias. EcoPolitic has compiled a list of the most resonant and large-scale cases.
1. 91 million hryvnia bail for the CEO of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine"
The most high-profile eco-corruption scandal of the year was the announcement of suspicion of illegal enrichment against Yuriy Bolokhovets, CEO of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine." The court set his bail at 91 million hryvnia, which was one of the largest bail amounts in environmental cases in recent years.
According to the investigation, the official was unable to confirm the legal origin of some of the property and funds he possessed. This case has become a marker of deep management problems in the forestry sector. The official has now been released from custody and is calmly attending meetings at the highest level.
2. Over $1 million in cash: illegal enrichment in the environmental inspection
In early November, law enforcement officers exposed Lilia Chigrikova, a civil servant of the State Environmental Inspection. During searches, they found and seized $880,000 and more than €200,000 from her.
Among the official's questionable assets are an apartment of over 100 square meters located in an elite residential complex, as well as a premium BMW 520i car.
Photo: State Bureau of Investigation
Journalistic investigations have indicated systemic corruption in the regional subdivision of the environmental inspectorate, where bribes and kickbacks may have been a regular practice.
The investigative program “Nashi Hroshi” reasonably suggests that corruption on such a scale could not have gone unnoticed by Chyhrykova’s direct supervisor, Deputy Head of the Prydniprovskiy District Environmental Inspectorate Dmytro Shybko. In 2019, he was already close to being imprisoned. At that time, he was arrested for bribe-taking, but this did not prevent Shybko from continuing his work.
"Supermom" and the luxurious lifestyle: eco-prosecutor dismissed after TV show
An unusual yet illustrative case involved Deputy Head of the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office Oleksandr Maleiev. His wife, on the show “Supermom,” publicly “showed off” her husband's numerous undeclared expenses to the whole country.
Source: screenshot from video
The public display of a luxurious lifestyle raised questions about the family's income and expenses. After the publicity, investigations were initiated, which resulted in the official's dismissal.
4. Illegal logging worth UAH 721 million in the Carpathian region
This case also became one of the most significant environmental crimes of the year. In September, nine officials in the Carpathian region were notified of suspicion of illegal logging, causing damage to the environment amounting to UAH 721 million.
During an inspection of 195 hectares of the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park, law enforcement officers found more than 13,000 illegally felled trees.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
5. Manipulations with e-wood accounting: State Bureau of Investigation exposed 13 officials
In July, the State Bureau of Investigation reported exposing 13 forestry officials who manipulated the electronic wood accounting system.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua
The system, designed to combat illegal logging, was in fact used to legalize illegally harvested timber. According to the investigation, foresters from all over the country used the services of these intermediaries.
6. ARMA accused "Forests of Ukraine" of financial manipulations
The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) announced possible financial manipulations at SE "Forests of Ukraine" in the amount of UAH 224 million. This refers to a corruption scheme for exporting timber, organized by officials of the Polissia Forestry Office in collusion with exporting companies, which caused losses of UAH 224 million. Foresters rejected these accusations.
7. Overpriced procurements with an excess of UAH 180 million
Rounding out the anti-rating is another case related to SE "Forests of Ukraine". The Bureau of Economic Security suspects the enterprise of conducting procurements with overpayments totaling approximately UAH 180 million.
According to the investigation, this concerns the purchase of goods and services at inflated prices, which may have been part of corruption schemes to siphon off funds.
Interesting observation from EcoPolitic
After his appointment, the new Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, actively focused on "Forests of Ukraine". Every month, several posts on his official Telegram channel were dedicated to exposing corruption at this state-owned enterprise. In September, the official abruptly lost interest-there were no posts after September 17. Apparently, influential individuals asked not to touch this gold mine.
One thing is clear: without systemic reforms, real accountability, and transparent oversight, all of the cases mentioned above risk remaining nothing more than loud headlines without just verdicts and real change.
