You're reading: Rivne’s ‘amber mafia’ case goes to Kyiv court

Head of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) Yuriy Lutsenko said the pretrial investigation into illegal mining of amber in Ukraine’s Rivne region is complete and has been sent to Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court.

“The pretrial investigation into the Rivne’ amber mafia headed by the ex deputy of the region’s PGO office is finished. The case has been forwarded to Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court,” Lutsenko said on his Facebook page on May 17.

The PGO’s press service said suspects would be tried pursuant to Part 1 of Article 255 (creating a criminal organization), Part 4 of Article 368 (bribery), Part 3 of Article 240 (illegal use of natural resources), Article 365 (exceeding authority or abusing law-enforcement status), Part 2 of Article 289 (illegal use of transportation) and Part 4 of Article 191 (embezzlement). Conviction could bring a maximum jail term of up to 12 years and confiscation of property.

Some 31 individuals have been implicated in the crimes, with courts handing down guilty verdicts against 25 of them.

The former deputy PGO head of Rivne region along with other officials are among the suspects, who include law-enforcement officers from Zhytomyr region, as well as a senior agent from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) based in Rivne region.