The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor's Office has completed the investigation into the case of large-scale illegal kaolin extraction – a mineral resource of national significance.

As a result, prosecutors have sent an indictment to the court against the director of a structural unit and a specialist from one of the local enterprises, who organized illegal activities resulting in losses of nearly 190 million hryvnias.

It has been established that the enterprise had a valid special permit for subsoil use; however, it violated the conditions of this permit and conducted extraction outside the permitted area and the resource estimation contour. Thus, under the guise of legal kaolin extraction, officials were actually developing new deposits without proper approvals and oversight.

From November 2020 to March 2023, the enterprise illegally extracted nearly 14 thousand tons of mineral resources, causing damages to the state of almost 190 million UAH.

The actions of the accused have been qualified under Part 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the rules for the protection or use of subsoil, which caused severe consequences).

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Cherkasy region with operational support from the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine.

Kaolin is a strategic mineral raw material widely used in the production of ceramics, paper, cosmetics, and medical preparations.

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 court verdict.