Prosecutors of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office (as a department) of the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office have sent an indictment to the court against three residents of the Chernihiv region for the facts of smuggling timber, forgery of official documents, committed by a group of individuals in conspiracy, and legalization of property obtained by criminal means (Part 2 of Article 201-1, Part 3, 4 of Article 358, Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation established that from June 2022 to October 2024, three men engaged in logging and wholesale timber trade used forged documents to transport unaccounted timber abroad without customs control. Subsequently, they sold the acquired timber, thus legalizing the timber products.

To implement their plan, the accused purchased invoices from other entrepreneurs and entered false information into them. The forged documents were used to obtain certificates of origin for the timber and to prepare cargo customs declarations.

In four months, the accused managed to export over 800 m³ of sawn timber made from pine, with a total value of 2.8 million UAH.

During the investigation, the accused admitted their guilt and voluntarily transferred 1 million UAH for the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. This money is currently being used to purchase fiber optic cables for one of the military units that is resisting the enemy along the demarcation line.

In light of this, according to the procedural code, it is possible to conclude a plea agreement — for a certain category of crimes and on the condition of compensation for the damage caused. Such an agreement certifies the genuine remorse of the accused and effectively means their accountability under criminal law.

In addition, at the request of the prosecutor, arrests have been imposed on a cargo truck with a trailer and a significant amount of timber and sawn timber, regarding which the court will decide on special confiscation for the benefit of the state.

The pre-trial investigation and operational support were carried out by investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Chernihiv region.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.