Facts of large-scale illegal sand extraction, which caused millions in environmental damage, have been uncovered and documented in two districts of the Kirovohrad region.

The criminal proceedings involve the director of the state enterprise "Concrete Products Plant" – a deputy of the Kirovohrad Regional Council from the banned political party "OPZZH", the manager and chief engineer of the limited liability company he founded, as well as the director of a private enterprise.

Prosecutors from the Kirovohrad Regional and Kropyvnytskyi District Prosecutor's Offices have informed them of suspicion in the illegal extraction of locally significant minerals in large quantities and committed as part of an organized group (Part 3, 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Within the framework of the investigation, with the participation of territorial units of the National Police of Ukraine, under the operational support of the DSR and the SBU, it was established that the regional council deputy, who heads the enterprise, created an organized group that included two officials from the LLC under his control.

From August to November 2024, they established illegal extraction of minerals from the waters of the Dnipro River in the Oleksandriia district. During this period, 34 thousand tons of sand were extracted, which is approximately equivalent to the volume of nearly 500 railway cars. The damages amount to over 23 million hryvnias.

A similar fact of illegal sand extraction was established in the territory of the village of Pervozvanivka in the Kropyvnytskyi district. The director of a small enterprise in the form of an LLC organized the illegal extraction of 16 thousand tons of sand and silt from June to September 2024. The damages from this illegal activity are estimated at nearly 30 million hryvnias.

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.