In the Rivne region, a businessman has been charged with financing the illegal extraction of amber
Officers from the State Bureau of Investigations have notified a businessman that he is under suspicion; according to the investigation, he facilitated the activities of a criminal organisation involved in the illegal extraction of amber in the Rivne region.
Investigators uncovered his activities during an investigation into a criminal organisation involved in large-scale illegal amber mining.
According to the investigation, the suspect provided the scheme’s participants with machinery, equipment and financial support to organise the illegal mining.
He is charged with participation in a criminal organisation and aiding and abetting the illegal extraction of amber under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 240-1 and Part 3 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) noted that in May 2024, bureau officers, in conjunction with the Security Service of Ukraine, uncovered a large-scale scheme of illegal amber mining in the region. The organised group had been operating for almost three years.
The investigation established that at the end of 2021, a local businessman set up a criminal organisation. Its members divided up roles, including the provision of equipment, the recruitment of diggers, the sale of amber and the cover-up of their activities.
In 2022, a company under their control obtained special permits for geological exploration of the deposits; however, according to the investigation, instead of conducting research, the organisers set up large-scale extraction.
Over two years, law enforcement officials state, more than five tonnes of amber were illegally mined. The damage to the environment is estimated at a minimum of 354 million hryvnias.
Previously, law enforcement officers detained seven members of the organisation, including a forestry worker. The investigation into these individuals has already been completed, and the case has been referred to court.
The Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Office of the Prosecutor General is overseeing the proceedings in the case.
