Akhmetov's dirty business: Classified accident at the oligarch's thermal power plant | SCHEMES № 316

In a new joint investigation by Scheme and the Anti-corruption Action Center, we report on a concealed accident at the Burshtyn TPP. This company is a part of DTEK Zahidenergo, whose beneficiary is Rinat Akhmetov. The accident leaked out to the public in early November.
The oligarch's holding company stated that an ordinary collector with water had broken through and there was no damage to the environment. However, they did not allow the State Environmental Inspectorate to inspect it.
The film crew managed to capture the scene of the accident using a drone. Experts who watched the video say that it is most likely a break in the ash and slag pipeline with hazardous substances.
The inspectorate was not allowed to the place of the accident. While an independent chemical examination found that the liquid from the floodplain exceeded the permissible level of a toxic element - arsenic. The journalists recorded that the liquid was pumped directly into a nearby water reservoir, connected to a local river, which then flows into the Dniester.
What are the possible consequences for human health? And when will the real system of state control and inevitability of punishment start working?
Author: Alina Strizhak (Anti-corruption Action Center)
Editor: Kira Tolstyakova
Editor-in-Chief: Nataliya Sedletska