Prosecutor General's Office in absentia served charges against the former chairman of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine Viktor Sivets and his wife. The website of the supervisory authority says the charges were served on 23 May. The suspects are planned to be put on the wanted list and tried in absentia.
A probe has established that Sivets and his wife along with other unidentified persons in 2011-2014 received more than 140 million hryvnya in bribes from foreign companies for the opportunity to purchase wood and wood products in Ukraine. These illegal proceeds were subsequently legalized through offshore firms.
Prosecutor General's Office, including through international cooperation, has found and arrested 3m dollars of that sum.
Sivets and his wife are suspected of what the Criminal Code of Ukraine describes as "legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime" (Art. 209), and "acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of undue advantage by an official" (Art. 368).