Fake subcontracts and loss-making timber sales: SBI reveals results of special operation
The State Bureau of Investigation on October 15 released interim results of the large-scale special operation "Green Shield," aimed at combating embezzlement of state forestry enterprises' funds, illegal logging, and corruption in the forestry sector. Law enforcement officials have notified 23 individuals of suspicion, and 11 of them were detained.
This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation.
Overall, investigative actions covered 12 criminal proceedings. In six of them, 23 suspects were notified of suspicion, and in the other six, 39 searches were conducted. Additionally, two investigations concerning nine individuals have been completed. In one of these proceedings, signs of an organized group consisting of eight members were identified.
According to the investigation, officials and entrepreneurs used several schemes to illegally obtain income: arranging fictitious subcontracts, selling state timber at lowered prices, and conducting illegal logging of healthy trees under the guise of sanitary measures.
One of the largest fraudulent schemes was uncovered in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Vinnytsia regions. According to the SBI, an organized group received funds from a state forestry enterprise for work that was actually not performed.
The company of the scheme's alleged organizer did not have the necessary equipment and workers, but it concluded contracts for timber harvesting with a total value of over 178 million hryvnias. Officials signed documents about supposedly completed work, after which budget funds were transferred to the enterprise.
Subsequently, the money was transferred to accounts of individual entrepreneurs, converted into cash, and distributed among scheme participants. In just one documented episode, the amount of embezzled funds amounted to 9.2 million hryvnias. At the same time, 178 million hryvnias is the total value of the contracts, not the established amount of embezzlement.
In Rivne and Volyn regions, law enforcement officers notified 12 officials of the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" and forestry enterprises of suspicion. According to the investigation, they illegally extended contracts with buyers, allowing timber to be sold at prices unfavorable to the state enterprise. The damages are estimated at almost 6.9 million hryvnias.
In Zhytomyr region, the SBI is investigating another scheme of diverting funds through private entrepreneurs. According to law enforcement, about 9 million hryvnias were passed through the accounts of individual entrepreneurs for work that was actually performed by forestry workers or local residents.
The entrepreneurs kept 17% of the received transfers, and the rest of the funds were withdrawn in cash and handed over to the scheme's organizers.
A separate area of the investigation concerns illegal tree felling. In Volyn, a forester is suspected of organizing the felling of 162 healthy oaks, pines, and hornbeams under the guise of sanitary measures. According to the investigation's estimate, the damages to the state exceed 6.5 million hryvnias.
In Kyiv region, due to alleged official negligence of two officials, 448 trees were illegally felled. The damage to the state is estimated at over 3.2 million hryvnias. The forester in Volyn and two officials in Kyiv region have been notified of suspicion.
Additionally, in Ivano-Frankivsk region, investigators are checking illegal logging on the territory of the "Chornyi Lis" nature reserve. According to preliminary data, permits were issued without necessary approvals, and trees were cut over an area of 15.4 hectares. Possible damages exceed 5 million hryvnias.
The SBI emphasizes that the special operation "Green Shield" is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are checking additional episodes, identifying other possible participants in the schemes, and working on compensation for damages caused to the state.
Recall that on October 7, the SBI announced the start of a large-scale special operation in the forestry sector. At that time, law enforcement officers reported on checks of possible corruption schemes, but had not yet released the total number of suspects, detainees, and conducted searches. The current announcement contains the first consolidated results of these investigations.
The guilt of the suspects must be established by the court.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation