Prosecutors of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Kirovohrad Regional Prosecutor's Office have reported suspicions against the director, chief engineer, and surveyor of a mining company, who caused millions in damage to the environment through their illegal activities.

It was established that the director of the joint-stock company organized the illegal extraction of minerals of national significance in the territory of the Haivoron deposit. During the period when the special permit for subsoil use was suspended, he continued to extract rock on an industrial scale.

In total, 42,000 tons of minerals were illegally extracted within the deposit in the Holovanivskyi district, causing 43 million hryvnias in environmental damage.

The actions of the suspects have been qualified under part 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal extraction of minerals of national significance committed by means of explosion.

The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings is being conducted by the Investigative Department of the National Police in the Kirovohrad region, with operational support from the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police.

Note: according to part one of 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 court verdict.