Amber Galbin is a group of companies that not only extract amber, but also have plans for decades to come. The companies will manufacture and sell finished products abroad. Thus, Amber Galbyn will become Ukraine's business card on the global amber market, says Pavlo Bondar, director of one of the companies. At the same time, he adds: if domestic law enforcement and officials do not get in the way.
Three years ago, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed amendments to the laws legalizing amber mining. An entrepreneur buys a special permit at an auction, which gives him the right to work with subsoil for five years and obliges him to reclaim the land afterwards.
It would seem that everyone should have been happy: the state receives money to the budget, some of which goes to local communities, and amber miners can legally do business. And even nature got a chance to recover.
However, according to Pavlo Bondar, it didn't work out as expected.
Pavlo Bondar, director of one of Amber Galbin's enterprises
It took the government a year and a half to develop a model agreement
In 2020, Pavlo Bondar's company took part in the auctions and paid one of the highest prices for special permits. Then the managers set a goal to work honestly and in accordance with the law.
We were one of the first to win special permits for two sites, for which we paid almost UAH 16 million. We were pioneers and had no idea how to do it. The state did not always help, and the lack of a legislative framework often made itself felt.
The company hired employees and paid them salaries, but for almost two years it could not start mining solar stones. The government has not resolved the issue between subsoil users and landowners.
BBC Ukraine's story about Amber Galbin in 2021
It turned out that entrepreneurs had the right to amber underground, but they could not work on the land to extract it, because it legally belonged to the landowner (the State Forestry Agency, a community, or a private owner) with whom they needed to conclude an agreement. The government developed its form for a year and a half! About. BBC Ukraine made a story.
Amber Galbin helps the community and the military
In the end, the government approved Model agreement. Amber Galbin's company signed the contract, solved other, mostly bureaucratic problems, and began mining the stone in March last year.
We all know what happened in February. It was a difficult decision, but we started working. The company hired more than 100 employees. People were officially paid salaries (the average salary at the company was about 15 thousand hryvnias).
Amber Galbin worked during the war. Despite this, they paid their rent and other taxes regularly.
The company also sent aid to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
And also entrepreneurs established close contacts with the local authorities. At the request of Serhii Opalka, head of the Vyriv territorial community, Amber Galbyn cleaned the Trustal River.
Serhiy Opalko: Amber Galbyn paid half a million hryvnias to the budget of the Vyriv community, cleaned the river.
Search in the style of an action movie
For only one month, the entrepreneurs worked quietly.
In April, a criminal case was opened against the company on the grounds of violation of the fertile soil layer. Despite the fact that we cooperated with the district police department and provided all the necessary documents, at the end of June 2022, police officers flew into the company and searched the premises. It looked like a scene from an American action movie, when the FBI captures a terrorist base: people were put face down in the sand, treated brutally, equipment was seized and impounded.
A search by law enforcement officers. Photo: Rivne regional police
Amber Galbin's lawyers appealed to the Sarny District Court and won. They also won the prosecutor's appeal. The court ruled to return the property and recognized the company's presence on the plots as completely legal, says Pavlo Bondar.
The qualification of the criminal proceedings has changed several times over the years. Initially, we were considered under the article on violation of a fertile soil layer that does not exist on the site. Later, it was reclassified as illegal amber mining.
To better understand what is happening, we sent information requests to law enforcement agencies of various regional structures.
The Sarny District Prosecutor's Office and the Sarny District Police Department, where the company's sites are located, responded that the pre-trial investigation in this case is being conducted by investigators from the Main Department of the National Police in Rivne Oblast.
Investigators of the National Police, in turn, refused to provide information.
The Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office confirmed the search and seizure of the property. She also informed that no one has been served with a notice of suspicion, and the property has already been returned.
However, we did not receive a specific answer to any of the ten or so questions addressed to law enforcement officers.
Partners in Asia and Europe
Today, the company employs certified specialists. Many of them receive education at the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering.
This is what it is all about is one of the main differences between black miners and Amber Galbin's employees. People are engaged in amber mining here professionally.
Amber Halbyn works on the Zalissia tract near Dubrovytsia.
Specialists will restore the land after them, not leave lunar landscapes.
But will the company be allowed to operate?
We have not received any comments from the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources and Geocontrol. But we are forced to stop. We will not be able to pay rent and foreign currency. A big question arises. who benefits from it and who is interested in it?
Amber Galbin aims to enter the international market. Last year, the company managed to sign several contracts with partners from East Asia and Europe, said Pavlo Bondar.
In September 2022, Amber Galbin took part in the AMBERIF 2022 exhibition.
But will a criminal case add to the company's positive image?
We want not only to sell raw amber. We are now thinking about processing amber so that not only raw materials but also products that will be of interest to consumers around the world will leave Ukraine. In 10 years, we see ourselves as a powerful company that will become a business card of Ukraine.
