ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih ecocide case closed – business ombudsman

Roman Vashchuk, Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman, touched on the tic in an interview with Ukrinform.

"… In 2019, a proceeding was initiated against ArcelorMittal on ecocide charges. Now this case is closed," he said.

At the same time, according to the business ombudsman, law enforcers pursue the inquiry into tax viations at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, invving the company’s chief accountant.

Read also: “Deliberate act of ecocide”: Vereshchuk on Russians draining Kakhovka Reservoir

As reported, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC is one of Ukraine’s largest metallurgical enterprises.

On July 17, 2019, the Security Service initiated a criminal proceeding against ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih officials on environmental plution charges under Art. 441 of the Criminal Code (ecocide).

In July-September 2019, the inspection audited the Kryvyi Rih agglomeration factory. The facilities of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih’s coke chemical production were also inspected.

In October 2019, President Vodymyr Zelensky announced that a compromise had been reached with ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih regarding the construction of an oncogy center. The company was to allocate about UAH 400 million to this end.