Under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, the director of one of the companies in the Bashtanka district has been notified of suspicion of illegal extraction of minerals of national significance – underground water (part 3 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, from January 2024 to September 2025, the director of one of the companies in the Bashtanka district, in collusion with another person, extracted underground water without the appropriate permit for subsoil use. The extracted resources were subsequently used for the production, packaging, and sale of drinking water to the population. Such actions constitute a gross violation of the requirements of Ukrainian legislation on subsoil.

During authorized searches, the following items were seized: an electric pump; 10 industrial production line facilities for the manufacture and sorting of plastic containers and product labeling; over 2,000 containers with finished products (non-carbonated and carbonated water); nearly 900 empty containers and labeling materials; documentation with rough notes.

According to the calculations made, the damage caused to the state as a result of illegal extraction of minerals exceeds 120 million UAH.

The issue of choosing a preventive measure for the suspect is being resolved.

A motion has also been submitted to the court for the imposition of a seizure on the seized physical evidence.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Investigative Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region, with operational support from the UCR in the Mykolaiv region of the National Police of Ukraine.

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.