Lviv region uncovers UAH 103 million illegal logging scheme, MP suspected - Prosecutor General
Kyiv • UNN
The official illegally issued permits for logging sparse forests in the Stryi district. 19,000 trees were destroyed, and a settlement council deputy has been notified of suspicion.
The prosecutor's office uncovered another scheme for destroying forests in the Lviv region – with UAH 103 million in damages and tens of thousands of felled trees, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced on Friday on social media, UNN reports.
The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the OGP uncovered another scheme of illegal forest destruction in the Lviv region. The organizer is the director of the Slavske subsidiary forestry enterprise "Halsillis", a current deputy of the local settlement council.
According to the Prosecutor General, the official issued official permits (logging tickets) for felling "sparse forests" between 2019 and 2023. "There is no such type of felling in Ukrainian legislation at all. This was an attempt to legalize the destruction of the forest," he pointed out.
"In this way, almost 19,000 trees were destroyed in the Stryi district. The environmental damage exceeds UAH 103 million," Kravchenko noted.
To carry out the work, the suspect, as reported by the Prosecutor General, engaged private enterprises that were unaware of his criminal intentions and considered the work legal.
The official has been notified of suspicion on the fact of illegal logging committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, which caused grave consequences (Part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The prosecutor's office appealed to the court with a petition for the election of a preventive measure – round-the-clock house arrest, as well as for the seizure of property.
"No positions or statuses give the right to destroy Ukrainian forests for personal gain. For every felled tree, one will have to answer according to the law. We continue to work," Kravchenko emphasized.