The son of the head of the Ternopil Center for Standardization is suspected of illegally extracting water.

The police in Ternopil uncovered a private entrepreneur and the director of a sanatorium involved in the illegal extraction, production, and sale of bottled water. During the searches, they seized approximately 30,000 liters of already packaged water. Sources from ZAXID.NET in law enforcement indicated that a well-known businessman in Ternopil, Yevheniy Teshner, is connected to the illegal activities.

Police investigators reported suspicions against two residents of Ternopil for the illegal extraction and sale of water from a well. The offenders established an illegal production and bottling operation for drinking water on the premises of a sanatorium located near Ternopil. They marketed the finished product under the brand of a well-known trading company, the police of Ternopil region reported on Tuesday, January 14.

According to information from the site “Ternopolians”, the illegal extraction was linked to the son of the head of the state enterprise “Ternopil Scientific and Production Center for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification,” entrepreneur Yevheniy Teshner. His accomplice was the director of the “Veselka” sanatorium, situated near the village of Petrykiv. They were allegedly engaged in the illegal extraction and sale of bottled water. This information was also confirmed by ZAXID.NET's own sources in law enforcement in Ternopil region.

The Ternopil regional prosecutor's office also published a report on the exposure of illegal extraction and production of bottled water. In the photo from the prosecutor's office, a vehicle is visible, displaying the logo of the Ternopil company “Sekvana,” which specializes in water and ice delivery, as indicated by the writing on the vehicle's door. The address of this company's website is also visible. The officials of this enterprise are suspected of illegal water extraction. According to YouControl, this enterprise is owned by Teshner's relative – Anastasia Teshner.

Law enforcement asserts that the suspects extracted water from underground wells of the medical facility without the appropriate permission to use the subsurface resources. They set up a full production line for bottling and packaging water on the sanatorium's premises.

“The police conducted searches at the production and residence locations. During these searches, they seized documents, equipment for the production and packaging of water, nearly 30,000 liters of packaged water, containers, cash, and rough notes confirming illegal activities. By a ruling of the Ternopil city district court, the seized property and equipment were placed under arrest,” the police reported.

The director of the enterprise, Yevheniy Teshner, confirmed in a comment to “Suspilne. Ternopil” that his company is indeed involved in the police investigation. He is confident that the enterprise operates within the framework of current legislation and will prove its innocence in court.

“I can refute this because everything we do is legal; we operate, and we have all the documents. We provided them with all the documents. They conducted their investigative actions and want to prove that we were taking illegal water. We have all receipts of payments. Today we had a court session, and our lawyer was present,” Yevheniy Teshner stated.

The entrepreneur also noted that they possess all the necessary documents to operate on the sanatorium's territory. “I believe that the court should determine who is guilty and who is not. We brought a complete list of documents. We provided information on how we operate, under what documents we operate, and the regulations we adhere to,” Yevheniy Teshner said.

Additionally, police investigators informed the private entrepreneur and the sanatorium director of suspicions under part 3 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Illegal extraction of mineral resources). The sanctions of this article provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years.

Yevheniy Teshner is the son of a well-known official in Ternopil, the head of the State Enterprise “Ternopil Scientific and Production Center for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification”, Mykola Teshner. In 2020, Yevheniy Teshner ran for the Ternopil Regional Council from the “Servant of the People” party but did not succeed. According to media reports, he has been involved in several high-profile traffic accidents. His father, Mykola Teshner, was accused by Ternopil residents in 2008 of a fatal accident that resulted in the death of his deputy, Mykola Omelyan. Relatives claimed that the official managed to buy his way out of the situation.