Under the procedural guidance of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, two participants in an illegal scheme for the transfer of forest fund lands into private ownership have been exposed. Such lands are state property, cannot be reclassified, and are provided exclusively for lease.

According to the investigation, one of the suspects had forest management lands of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in the Kamianske district on the banks of the Dnipro River under permanent use. In order to use the plot for recreational business, he forged documents and altered the technical passport, reclassifying the specified lands to agricultural category.

Based on the forged documents, another suspect, the head of the land resources department of one of the village councils in the region, prepared a draft decision for the transfer of the land based on the forged documents. After that, construction of elite cottages for recreation began on the territory.

The losses to the state amounted to nearly 5 million hryvnias, as confirmed by the findings of the expert examination.

The owner of the specified lands has been notified of suspicion regarding fraud, disposition of property obtained by criminal means, and use of forged documents (part 5 of Article 190, part 2 of Article 209, part 2 of Article 28, part 4 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The official is charged with abuse of office (part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

As a result of sanctioned searches at the residences of the suspects, mobile phones and documentation confirming the illegal activities were seized.

Currently, investigative actions are ongoing to establish all participants in the criminal scheme.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Dnipropetrovsk region with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk 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 court verdict.