Wine with a taste of eco-disaster: bail was set for the head of a plant in Odesa region

In Odesa region, the director of a winery is under investigation for large-scale land contamination, with losses to the state exceeding UAH 12.5 million. Instead of properly disposing of production waste, it was dumped into the soil for years.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.

In Odesa region, law enforcement officers uncovered a land pollution scheme involving the director of a winery in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district. According to the investigation, the company's head deliberately violated environmental standards to save money on the disposal of industrial waste.

PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua

According to investigators, the grape wine company was supposed to set up a special infrastructure for waste collection and storage. However, the director did not do so - there was no design, construction, or commissioning of the relevant facilities.

Instead, production waste was simply dumped on the ground. Part of it was dumped on a plot of land that the company had officially leased for its business activities. The other part was dumped on the neighboring territory, where the defendant in the case arbitrarily organized soil deepening, effectively creating an improved pit for waste accumulation.

As a result of these actions, two state-owned land plots with a total area of 0.855 hectares were contaminated. This is not just a localized violation - according to experts, the damage to the environment and public interests exceeds UAH 12.5 million.

The scheme was uncovered by operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department together with police investigators and the Environmental Inspectorate. After collecting evidence, the head of the company was served a notice of suspicion under two articles at once - abuse of power and contamination of land with hazardous substances.

PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua

The court has already imposed a bail of UAH 3 million. If proven guilty in court, the director faces up to six years in prison and a ban on holding managerial positions.

At the beginning of the year, the head of the private enterprise was left in custody in the Odesa pre-trial detention center. She was accused of polluting the waters of the Chornomorsk port.

Анна Бальчінос