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The Green Fund is a pioneering NGO that successfully supported the first-ever class action lawsuit in Ukraine’s history
This lawsuit arose from the Vasylkiv tragedy that occurred near Kyiv, one of the worst incidences of environmental pollution ever in Ukraine. Local residents came together to assert their right, under Ukrainian law, to damages for the wilful neglect and deliberate acts that led to the tragedy.
More than 2,000 plaintiffs in this class action benefited from $1 million of compensation from moral damage caused
Building on the unprecedented success achieved through the Vasylkiv pollution incident, the Green Fund is now at the heart of a major class action in Mykolaiv, a port city in southern Ukraine.
Residents of the city and the surrounding region are together claiming more than $300 million from the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant LLC for the deliberate dumping of around 50 million tonnes of highly toxic and carcinogenic red sludge from the refining process.
The plant is owned by Rusal, a Russian aluminium producer whose principal shareholder is Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska – sanctioned by the US, UK and EU.
A final ruling on this case is pending before the Supreme Court of Ukraine
The Green Fund is headed by Dr Pavlo Kuftyryev, Ukraine’s leading specialist environmental lawyer, who is considered the godfather of class action lawsuits in Ukraine. Dr Kuftyryev is a coordinator of the working group of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the national parliament) on drafting bills on direct democracy. Dr Kuftyryev won Advocate of the Year in the field of environmental law in 2020 and 2021. He serves as chairman of the Committee on Environmental Law and Energy of the Ukrainian Advocates Association.
Pavlo Kuftyryev is also a managing partner of GRECO Law Company, Ukraine’s leading law firm specialising in environmental disputes, class action lawsuits and consumer protection. With the legal support of the Green Fund, GRECO successfully pursued the Vasylkiv class action to a successful conclusion, creating legal history in Ukraine and cementing citizens’ legal right to seek redress in this way.
GRECO Law Company is the exclusive legal representative and adviser on cases and claims initiated by the Green Fund.