"Distributed to 'respectable' people": Hetmantsev proposes to audit fields

Ukraine needs to audit all mineral deposits and return illegally stolen ones to the people in order to attract the United States to extract Ukrainian mineral resources, Ekonomichna Pravda reports.

This was stated by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy Danylo Hetmantsev.

"In order to grant a permit for subsoil use, it must be available. But it's no secret that over the past 30 years, all the permits for commercially interesting deposits have been given to 'respectable' people. That is, there is nothing or almost nothing to offer to partners," said Getmantsev.

He noted that the discussion of the idea of the US involvement in the extraction of Ukrainian minerals "has brought back the relevance of several important topics that had been off the agenda before the war through the efforts of stakeholders."

According to him, the first issue to be resolved is to conduct audits of all mineral deposits and return illegally stolen minerals to the people of Ukraine.

"And let's be clear: it must be resolved regardless of the interests of the United States or other partners. This is our business and the interest of the people," emphasized Hetmantsev.

As an example, he cited the fugitive ex-minister Mykola Zlochevsky, who continues to receive significant income from Ukrainian oil fields.

Hetmantsev emphasized that after the fields are returned, "it is possible and advisable to transfer them to a foreign investor from partner countries on mutually beneficial terms, but definitely without benefits and with a fair share of the value of the extracted and preferably then processed in Ukraine."

To recap:

TheShevchenkivskyi Court of Kyiv returned the equipment seized by the BES that was used for the production of illegal tobacco.

Viktor Volokita