Illegally extracted sand from Desna: three employees of the enterprise were notified of suspicion

Illegally extracted sand from Desna: three employees of the enterprise were notified of suspicion

Under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office, three employees of the enterprise were charged with illegal extraction of minerals of local significance in large quantities (Part 3 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported this.

According to the investigation, a sand mining company with specialised equipment, using permits issued by another company, extracted sand from the Desna River in Kyiv region in 2023 at the Oseshchynske and Desnianske-Upper deposits.

According to the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine, the Desnyanske-Upper sand deposit is operated by Sobi LLC*, and the Oseshchynske deposit is operated by Ukrbudtrestservice LLC**.

In August 2023, realising that the maximum permissible sand extraction depth of 8 m had been reached within the field, the crew moved the sand loader outside the Desnyanske-Upper field to extract more sand.

Using specialised equipment, they illegally extracted 10,000 tonnes of sand from the Desna River and loaded it onto 9 barges for further transport to a storage facility in Kyiv.

These actions caused damage to the environment in excess of UAH 7 million.

Prosecutors and investigators conducted urgent investigative actions, during which they stopped the illegal activity and seized documents confirming it.

The issue of choosing a measure of restraint for the suspects and seizing the instrument of the crime is currently being decided. Other persons involved in the crime are being identified.

The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings is being conducted by the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine with the operational support of the SSU Main Directorate for Countering Systemic Threats to State Governance of the SSU Department of National Statehood Protection.