Head of State Forestry Agency from Odesa region pleads guilty in bribery case

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa approved the plea agreement between Oleh Tkach, former head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of the State Forestry Agency, and the prosecutor.

According to the court' s verdict, under the agreement, the former head of the department pleaded guilty to abuse of influence and was fined UAH 93,500.

The official extorted money from the regional organization of the Ukrainian Society of Hunters and Fishermen for assistance in increasing the territory of their hunting grounds by 13,000 hectares in Odesa region. These areas were used by the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine". The defendant promised to resolve the issue in all instances in favor of the organization in exchange for USD 25 thousand.

Since the approval procedure had several stages, this is how the official justified the amount of the illegal benefit. According to him, part of the money was to be given to his friends from the management of the State Forestry Agency and the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine".

Environmental prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office served a notice of suspicion to the former head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of extortion of an undue advantage on a particularly large scale in January 2026. He was dismissed from his position and held in custody.

In early March 2026, employees of the State Bureau of Investigation sent to court a case of illegal transactions by the now former head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of the State Forestry Agency.

Кирило Бойко