Law enforcement officers have uncovered a large-scale scheme to legalize illegally harvested valuable wood, within which about 10,000 illegally cut oaks were documented as legal products and sold in Ukraine and abroad. According to the investigation, through fictitious documents, the participants in the scheme sold timber worth over UAH 147 million. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, writes UNN.
Prosecutors of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with the State Bureau of Investigation, uncovered and stopped a large-scale scheme to legalize illegally harvested valuable wood
According to the investigation, during 2022–2025, illegally cut oaks were documented as legally harvested timber, which made it possible to sell it on the domestic market and export it abroad. This concerns about 19,000 cubic meters of timber, equivalent to almost 10,000 illegally cut oaks.
The scheme was organized by the head of a private enterprise engaged in forestry activities and using forest fund lands. He involved other individuals who, for a fee, entered false information into the electronic timber accounting system about the supposedly legal origin of the timber products.
Based on this data, waybills were issued and certificates of origin for timber materials, necessary for their sale and export, were obtained. In fact, the fictitious records became the basis for the further sale of timber and its export outside Ukraine.
According to the investigation, documents with false information were used by over 100 business entities, including some of the largest timber exporters in Ukraine. The total amount of transactions for the sale of such timber products exceeds UAH 147 million.
Four members of the organized group have been detained. On June 18, 2026, six individuals were notified of suspicion, including the organizer of the scheme and two directors of private enterprises that exported timber using documents about its fictitious legal origin.
A motion has been submitted to the court to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for all suspects.