An organized criminal group illegally seized 17 hectares of forest near "Bukovel", among the suspects is a prosecutor's office employee - Prosecutor General
Kyiv • UNN
An organized criminal group illegally seized 17 hectares of forest fund lands near "Bukovel". Among the exposed participants is an active prosecutor's office employee.
An organized criminal group illegally seized 17 hectares of forest fund lands near the famous "Bukovel" resort, involving 14 plots. As reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, members of the OCU have been exposed, including a prosecutor's office employee, UNN reports.
Details
According to preliminary data, the organized criminal group illegally seized 17 hectares of forest fund lands near the famous "Bukovel" resort. This concerns 14 land plots located in the Polyanytsia forestry of the SE "Vorokhta Forestry Enterprise." Their market value amounts to almost UAH 38 million.
The scheme involved a former head of the StateGeoCadastre department in Yaremche, former law enforcement officials, engineers, geologists, surveyors, local entrepreneurs, and developers. Unfortunately, among them was also an active prosecutor's office employee. This once again proves that the cleansing of the system is not declarative. It continues, and this process is irreversible. The accomplices forged documents and used fictitious technical documentation, assigned cadastral numbers to the plots, and registered them in the names of front persons. The ultimate goal was the subsequent commercial development of these territories. Currently, seven members of the criminal organization have been notified of suspicion
According to the Prosecutor General, this is not the first episode of this scheme. Earlier, law enforcement agencies had already brought six other participants to justice. They were found guilty and convicted.
In total, 13 indictments have been sent to court. Prosecutors have returned 26 illegally appropriated land plots to the state through the court. And this is not just about state forest that was attempted to be turned into a private asset. But about people who decided they could do this with impunity. They cannot. Responsibility will be inevitable. My position is unequivocal – for the law, there are no "insiders" and "outsiders." A prosecutor's office employee, a law enforcement officer, or any official involved in a crime will be held accountable on an equal footing with others
He added that the crime was uncovered by prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General together with the National Police. The investigation is ongoing.