03.01.2025 Ecology Money laundering

An official of the President’s Office and smuggling, logging and illegal mobilization schemes in the Uzhanskyi National Nature Park

Микита розповів, чим буде займатися на посаді заступника голови Офісу Президента

Do officials of the Presidential Office of Ukraine have a less than crystal clear reputation? Today we will talk about the deputy head of the OP, and formerly the head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, Mykyta Viktor, who has been taking full advantage of his official privileges and connections by organizing smuggling schemes and deforestation in one of the natural parks of Zakarpattia.

Background

Viktor Mykyta has been the head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration since December 2021. In September 2024, the official moved from Zakarpattia to Kyiv, where he was offered the position of Deputy Head of the Presidential Office – Yermak. Mykyta also took care of his previous position, so his protege Myroslav Biletskyi became the new head of the RSA.

During his time in charge of the region, Mykyta managed to take control of the entire Uzhansky National Nature Park. According to UNESCO, this is 3 thousand hectares of forest and millions of trees and rare plants.

The territory of the Uzhansky National Nature Park is closely adjacent to the state border of Ukraine with countries such as Poland and Slovakia, which is a gold mine for smuggling schemes and… illegal transportation of persons subject to mobilization.

The Uzhansky National Nature Park has a challenging landscape with mountainous trails, dense forests, and minimal infrastructure, which only makes the situation of Mykyta and his group’s illegal activities more difficult.

What is really happening in Uzhansky Park?

So far, we can distinguish 3 schemes of using the territory of the Uzhansky Park, which are based solely on the personal enrichment of Mykyta Biletsky, an official of the Presidential Office, the head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, Yaroslav Shukal, the director of the Uzhansky National Nature Park, and their accomplices.

The first is smuggling

It is not surprising that the territory adjacent to the border with Slovakia and Poland has become the main channel for the illegal movement of goods. The list of smuggled goods includes tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, fuel, and valuable natural resources.

The process of transportation of goods takes place in different ways. For small consignments, foot couriers are used to carry the goods across the border in backpacks or special bags. Large consignments of goods are transported by cars with specially equipped caches and on motorcycles that can overcome narrow mountain trails.

Smuggling is organized through a network of illegal trails, where local guides provide safe passage. Park employees receive bribes to “ignore” these routes.

In some cases, smuggling organizers use fictitious documents to legalize goods that have already been imported into the country. Such acts allegedly indicate that the goods are locally produced or that their importation was formalized at reduced duty rates. This avoids paying real taxes and reduces the value of the goods for further sale.

The smuggled goods are then sold on the black or gray market, where there is no documentary evidence of the transactions. Accordingly, the income from such sales is not declared and no income or value added taxes are paid. This creates a parallel shadow market.

Another is mobilization evasion.

Through intermediaries (currently unidentified), the group members are looking for people who want to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine during martial law to evade mobilization. It is these intermediaries who establish contact with clients who agree to pay a significant amount for illegal border crossing. Depending on the complexity of the route, the amount can vary from several thousand to tens of thousands of US dollars. After receiving the advance payment, the organizers create an individual transportation plan for each person or group.

According to the investigation, those wishing to avoid mobilization pay from 5 to 15 thousand dollars. The scheme apparently operates with the participation of local border guards, who “turn a blind eye” to the offenses.

The third scheme is illegal logging

Forest plantations in the park are classified as damaged, emergency or unusable. This allows them to avoid real inspections and to obtain logging permits. The timber is then sold at reduced prices to front companies. The timber is then resold on the domestic or international market at market prices.

Moreover, the director of the Uzhansky Park, Shukal, unreasonably assigns areas for sanitary felling, which is another way to cover up illegal activities. In particular, using his authority, he issues the necessary permits to cut down trees allegedly for the purpose of sanitary measures. In reality, such felling is carried out in areas that do not require any intervention. It is particularly dangerous that valuable wood species, including those growing in UNESCO protected areas, are cut down under the guise of sanitary felling.

In addition, in order to increase the volume of illegally cut wood, a scheme is used to cut down trees allegedly for “lighting forest roads.” According to this scheme, park employees draw up fictitious documentation indicating the presence of forest roads in areas where they have never existed. These roads are drawn on map schemes that are included in forest management materials that look like official documents. In reality, such “roads” are just ordinary drags – temporary narrow paths that may have been used in the past to transport timber, but are not officially registered or existing roads. So-called “lighting” logging is organized on the basis of unreliable data.

In addition, the director of the Park, Shukal, organized a scheme of illegal logging, involving employees, equipment and warehouses of the legal entities under his control, PE Shukal and PE Servisbudtrans. The scheme begins with illegal obtaining of permits and bypassing the procedures for logging in the protected area. For this purpose, falsified documentation is used to create the appearance of legality.

Based on the published materials and appeals from park employees, numerous facts have been established that also indicate financial fraud using budget funds. The list includes the following:

  • Non-payment of wages. Park employees are not systematically paid wages, but these facts are concealed in the reporting.
  • Fictitious payments. Fictitious documents are issued under the guise of salaries or bonuses, while the funds remain at the disposal of the organizers of the scheme.
  • Payment of wages in kind. Instead of cash payments, employees are provided with goods or services, which allows them to avoid paying taxes and create “shadow” schemes.
  • “Dead souls” on the payroll. Salaries are paid to people who do not actually work in the park. This ensures the transfer of funds to controlled accounts.
  • Violations in the repair of equipment. During the repair of vehicles and fixed assets, spare parts are written off without detailing, which allows for overstatement of expenses. In particular, used tires and batteries are illegally sold.
  • Violation of the cost of services. Overpricing of timber products, excursion services and property lease allows to receive “excessive income” that ends up in the pockets of the organizers of the scheme.

In addition, the building of the Uzhansky National Park in Velykyi Bereznyi is leased without the approval of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Uncontrolled rental income does not go to the budget, but remains at the disposal of the organized criminal group.

All of these violations, both individually and as a group, constitute a series of crimes that simply cannot be ignored by law enforcement agencies. That is why we have collected all the materials and sent them to the law enforcement agencies.

We demand:

  1. Conduct a comprehensive audit of the Uzhok National Park, including financial and business operations.
  2. To bring to justice Mykyta, an official of the Presidential Office, Biletskyi, the head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, and Shukalat, the director of the park, and other participants in corruption schemes.
  3. Ensure transparency and accountability in the use of budget funds.
  4. Introduce mechanisms for independent control over the park’s activities, including the involvement of international organizations.

Did you witness a crime?

Let us know about it. We will help protect the violated rights!

Share the post:

Last news

ALL NEWS ALL ARTICLES