Under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, law enforcement agencies uncovered large-scale violations in the field of forestry. The illegal actions of officials led to the destruction of valuable forest resources and caused the state losses amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias.

In total, nine forestry officials have been notified of suspicion of committing criminal offenses related to illegal logging and abuse of office. The amount of damages exceeds 721 million UAH.

Among the suspects:

Two former leaders, the head of the department, and an engineer of "Kutske LHG" of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in 2022 allowed logging within the nature reserve without the necessary permits and limits. During the inspection of 195 hectares of the territory of the National Natural Park "Hutsulshchyna," 13,194 illegally cut trees were identified, carried out based on 59 logging tickets. Damages amount to over 700 million UAH. They are charged with abuse of power and illegal logging (part 3 of article 365, part 2 of article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Investigative actions are ongoing.

The master of the forest of the Tysiv Forestry of the Communal Enterprise "Dolynskyi Special Agroforestry" has been notified of suspicion under part 1 of article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the investigation, due to his official negligence, 18 immature trees were cut down, causing damages amounting to 241 thousand UAH.

The heads of the Bohorodchansky and Kolomyia special agroforestry enterprises entered into direct contracts for the sale of forest products at undervalued prices. As a result, the state suffered losses of 333 thousand UAH and 1.8 million UAH respectively. Their actions have been qualified as abuse of power (part 1 and part 2 of article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The master of the forest of the Kobakivske Forestry of "Kosivskyi RP (Rayagrolis)" is charged under part 2 of article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation established that his official negligence led to the illegal logging of over a hundred trees in the territory of the National Park "Hutsulshchyna," causing damages of over 15.4 million UAH.

The chief forester of the State Enterprise "Delyatyn Forestry" has been notified of suspicion of official negligence (part 2 of article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He illegally issued logging tickets for the cutting of rare forests, which is not provided for by law. The amount of damages exceeds 3.3 million UAH.

Pre-trial investigations in these proceedings are being conducted by investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and the Fifth Investigative Department of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigations located in Lviv (with deployment in Ivano-Frankivsk), with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine and the Criminal Investigation Department in the region.

It is also worth noting that the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with regional prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, uncovered a number of violations in the field of forestry last week. Eleven individuals received suspicions, and an indictment against three individuals was sent to court. The total amount of damages from these offenses is at least 32.8 million UAH. Among the documented facts:

• in Transcarpathia – illegal logging, forgery of documents, and attempts to seize forest products amounting to over 1 million UAH;

• in Vinnytsia region – organization of illegal logging in protected areas with damages exceeding 2.5 million UAH;

• in Bukovina – embezzlement and smuggling of forest products, damages exceeding 250 thousand UAH;

• also documented was the arson of 70 hectares of forest, with damages amounting to about 24 million UAH.

Prosecutorial authorities will continue to respond to crimes in the field of the environment, ensuring the protection of natural resources and state interests!