Ukrainian public organizations have appealed to the embassies of Canada, Finland, and Latvia, warning about corruption risks in the "Forests of Ukraine" enterprise and possible reputational consequences for foreign members of the Supervisory Board, including a representative from our country.
Public figures have sent official letters to the diplomatic missions of Canada, Finland, and Latvia after new evidence of possible corruption abuses in the activities of the State Specialized Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" emerged, writes kp.ua.
Journalists have obtained an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations - a criminal case that was registered on November 7, 2025, on the grounds of embezzlement of property on a particularly large scale. According to the investigation, officials unjustifiably paid over 6 million UAH in bonuses to members of the Supervisory Board, which could have caused damage to state property.
At the same time, the management of "Forests of Ukraine" is involved in several anti-corruption cases. In particular, the general director, Yuriy Bolokhovets, was previously notified of suspicion of illegal enrichment, which was investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Criticism is also directed at the Chairman of the Supervisory Board - Oleksiy Kucher, who simultaneously heads the State Regulatory Service.
According to activists, it is Kucher, along with foreign members of the Council, who continues to show silent support for the current management of the enterprise, despite numerous corruption risks.
Public organizations accuse the Supervisory Board of the enterprise - which includes independent specialists from Canada, Finland, and Latvia - of lacking proper control over the management. In the appeals to the officials of the embassies, it is stated that the Council's silence on the demands to clarify the situation raises questions about the integrity of its members and does not meet international corporate governance standards.
In a letter to the Embassy of Finland, in particular, there are mentions of possible reputational risks for Janne Haryunpaa, one of the independent members of the Council, due to the fact that the criminal case concerns payments to all members of the Supervisory Board and may call into question the legitimacy of the rewards they received. Similar appeals have been sent to the embassies of Latvia and Canada regarding Robert Stripnieks and Markiyan Vitvitsky.
As the authors of the appeals note, foreign specialists may not have complete information about the legal details of the situation, and the public seeks to proactively warn diplomatic institutions about the possible consequences for their citizens.
In conclusion, they urge: to prevent an international scandal, the Supervisory Board must urgently provide a public assessment of the situation, make a decision regarding the leadership, and initiate an independent audit. Delays, in the opinion of the authors of the appeals, only increase suspicions and threaten to turn the problem into a diplomatic crisis.
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