[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Centre]

The case for UAH 157 billion against the management of Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (associated with Zhevago) has been referred to court, 18 January 2025

Prosecutors from the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (SEP) of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) have referred an indictment to court against four officials of a mining and processing plant in the Poltava region, according to an official statement.

The case concerns PJSC “Poltava Mining and Processing Plant.” One of the accused is the Chairman of the Board, Viktor Lotous.

The plant is part of the Ferrexpo group and is 50.3% owned by Kostyantyn Zhevago, who fled abroad in 2019.

Lotous is charged with illegal extraction of minerals, abuse of authority, and laundering of property obtained through criminal means on a particularly large scale. His deputy and two department heads are charged with laundering property obtained through criminal means on a particularly large scale, according to the OPG.

According to the investigation, the company was licensed to extract only iron ore (ferruginous quartzites). Other mineral materials (waste generated during processing) were required to be stored in designated facilities, and a special permit was needed for their processing.

However, the Chairman of the Board, together with his deputy and two department heads, allegedly organized the legalization of illegally extracted minerals. The company processed the waste into crushed stone of three different fractions and sold it on the market. The management reportedly entered false information into reporting documentation regarding the processing results.

Between 2015 and 2021, more than 20 million cubic meters of such materials were extracted, equivalent to approximately 164,000 railway wagons. In total, over 885,000 tonnes of crushed stone products and waste rock were legalized in this manner, with a total value of UAH 33.5 million.

The environmental damage caused is estimated by the SEP at over UAH 157 billion.