Police exposed a scheme to extract 105,000 tons of minerals under the guise of “research” worth over UAH 100 million

Law enforcement officers have uncovered the illegal activities of an enterprise that, having received permission exclusively for experimental and industrial development, was unreasonably engaged in the extraction of minerals of widespread use.

Operatives of the Department of Strategic Investigations in cooperation with investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine have exposed a scheme for the extraction of minerals in the Volyn region.

It was established that the Lviv enterprise was conducting geological research in the area near the village of Blagodatne in the Volodymyr district. Despite the permission received only for limited research, the management organized full-scale extraction of minerals.

Among the extracted minerals were argillite, siltstone and sandstone, which were extracted from the tailings and sold to other enterprises.

Thus, under the guise of “research work”, illegal activities were carried out in the extraction and sale of minerals of national importance.

The financial audit confirmed that the company sold approximately 105 thousand tons of minerals for a total amount of over 102.6 million hryvnias, including:

56,203 tons of siltstone;

34,347 tons of mudstone;

14,363 tons of sandstone.

As part of the investigation, five searches were conducted in the Volyn, Lviv and Kyiv regions.

The director of the company was charged with suspicion under Part 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal mining of minerals), which provides for a penalty of up to eight years in prison.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

At the same time, in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

In addition, a former official of the Education Department of the Desnyanska District State Administration will be tried in Kyiv, who is suspected of causing budget losses during the purchase of electricity for educational institutions.