Mayor of Vilkovo pleads guilty to facilitating illegal sand mining

The mayor of the town of Vilkovo, Matvey Ivanov, has entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor to admit guilt in illegal mining.

According to the Center for Public Investigations, the Kiliya District Court issued a verdict approving the agreement on January 29.

According to the agreement, the mayor was sentenced to three years in prison, but the actual sentence was replaced by a one-year probationary period with the obligations to periodically report for registration to the authorized probation body; notify the authorized probation body of changes in place of residence, work or study; and not travel outside Ukraine without the consent of the authorized probation body.

Case history

In the summer of 2025, Matvii Ivanov was served a notice of suspicion. He was accused of causing losses to the budget of more than UAH 200 million.

According to law enforcement officers, without the appropriate permits for the use of subsoil and using specialized equipment, two heads of a private enterprise illegally extracted minerals worth more than UAH 17 million, which was confirmed by an expert examination, and used them for construction.

During the investigation, the police found that the entrepreneurs were aware of the mayor's powers and, in order to avoid problems on his part, involved Matviy Ivanov in the illegal activity. The official, who was supposed to monitor compliance with environmental legislation in his community, did not do so. On the contrary, he assisted his accomplices in illegal sand mining.

According to preliminary estimates, the unauthorized use of subsoil caused the state to incur losses of almost UAH 172 million.

In August, Vitaliy Barvinenko, head of the Odesa District Council, filed a motion with the court to bail out the mayor of Vylkove, Odesa Oblast, Matviy Ivanov, who is suspected of colluding with businessmen to illegally extract sand. In addition to Vitaliy Barvinenko, the petition was also filed by Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov.

Кирило Бойко