Ukrainian Prosecution office presses charges against Zhytomyr law enforcement officials following Zelensky’s visit
After a meeting in Olevsk regarding illegal amber mining, the regional prosecution office has initiated a criminal case against law enforcement officials from the Zhytomyr region who may have derived unlawful benefit from the activity.
“During the meeting, among other problematic matters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced information on the complicity of government and law enforcement officials from the Zhytomyr province in providing cover for illegal amber mining schemes in the Olevsk, Ovrutskyi and Korostenskyi districts, as well as the possibility that they received unlawful benefits from the crime bosses for allowing the illicit activity to proceed unimpeded,” the prosecution office reported.
The case has been filed based on the information disclosed yesterday at the meeting in Olevsk, on the official website of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and in the mass media. The charges are in line with Section 3 Article 368 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code: the acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an unlawful benefit by an official in a position of responsibility.
The case materials for the pretrial investigation have been forwarded to the regional office of the State Bureau for Investigation in Kmelnytskyi.
On Monday, President Zelensky ordered the dismissal of the SBU and police chiefs in the “amber” regions of Ukraine.
All of the senior officials of the Zhytomyr province are also at risk of losing their positions in connection with the scandal.