The State Bureau of Investigation exposed an organized group engaged in illegal amber mining in the Rivne region

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation together with the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a large-scale special operation, during which exposed an organized group engaged in illegal mining and smuggling of amber abroad in the Rivne region.

This is one of the most high-profile implementations in the field of combating the “amber mafia” in recent years, as it is not only about multimillion-dollar losses to the state, but also about the discovery of a criminal group that has been active for almost three years.

According to the investigation, at the end of 2021, a local businessman, having significant financial resources, formed a criminal organization of six people. The participants clearly divided roles among themselves: from providing equipment, attracting diggers, weighing and packing stones — to selling amber, masking activities and communications with officials and representatives of law enforcement agencies.

In June 2022, the company controlled by the defendants received two special permits for the geological study of amber deposits on an area of ​​20 hectares, which was part of the forest fund. Under the terms of the permit, entrepreneurs had the right to extract no more than 5 kg of amber from each hectare exclusively for research and with further approval from state authorities. Instead, the organizers launched large-scale illegal mining.

In the period from June 2022 to May 2024, with the assistance of the head of one of the branches of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, more than 5 tons of amber were illegally mined from these plots and adjacent territories. An expert assessment established that the damage to the environment from the illegal use of subsoil amounted to at least 354 million hryvnias.

Seven members of the organized group were detained, including a forestry employee. All of them were charged with suspicion under the articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for the creation and participation in a criminal organization, as well as illegal mining of amber using an official position (parts 2, 3, 5 of article 27, part 4 of article 28, part 3 of article 240-1, part 1, 2, 3 of article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. Procedural management in the case is carried out by the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office.