In the Rivne and Volyn regions, law enforcement officers have uncovered a scheme to sell state-owned timber at reduced prices. Twelve officials of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” have been served with notices of suspicion.
This is reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Notices of suspicion were issued to the head and chief specialist of the sales department of one of the Forestry Offices of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, as well as to 10 former heads of forestry districts.
According to the investigation, in 2024 a branch of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, after holding auctions, signed contracts with two large wood-processing companies for the sale of unprocessed timber. They were in force until 31 December 2024 and provided for supplies at prices set in 2024.
After the contracts expired, the timber was supposed to be sold at new prices. However, on 31 December, the heads of the forestry districts, in collusion with officials of the Forestry Office, signed additional agreements with the companies and extended the contracts until 31 January 2025.
At the same time, as the Office of the Prosecutor General notes, the contract terms did not provide for the possibility of such an extension.
As a result, the companies continued for another month to buy timber at lower prices. In total, under these terms they were sold more than 4,000 cubic metres of forest products.
According to the investigation, the sale of timber at reduced prices caused losses of more than UAH 6.9 million to the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”.
The suspects’ actions were classified as abuse of office for the purpose of obtaining an unlawful benefit for a legal entity, committed by a group of persons acting in prior collusion, and resulting in grave consequences for the state’s interests.
The suspects were served with motions seeking a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody. Law enforcement officers are also identifying other individuals who may be involved in the criminal offence.
The Office of the Prosecutor General adds that, under the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent until their guilt is proven by a court’s conviction.