A criminal scheme at the Volyn customs office was revealed: losses to the state exceeded UAH 475 million.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) completed the investigation of a high-profile case about a criminal organization that caused more than UAH 475 million in losses to the state in 2018-2019.
About this write NABU
The members of the criminal group, which included 11 individuals and 10 officials of Volyn Customs, led by a former law enforcement officer, organized the illegal movement of highly liquid goods (mobile phones, computer equipment, clothes of well-known brands, etc.) through the international checkpoint “Yagodin”.
Criminals used a cunning scheme: they disguised the import of valuable goods under so-called “cover goods” with a much lower value.
Customs officials who were involved in criminal activity contributed to it, in particular:
- Not properly completing customs documents;
- Compiling forged acts on carrying out customs inspections;
- Entering false information into the automated customs clearance system “Inspector”;
- Deliberately failing to take steps to stop the illegal scheme.
- The activities of the criminal group were exposed and stopped by the joint efforts of NABU and SAP on November 8, 2023. At the same time, 10 persons involved in the case were informed about the suspicion. Subsequently, in January 2024, the circle of suspects expanded to 16 people, and in April – to 21.
Currently, they are charged with part 1 of Art. 255, Part 2, Article 3. 212, Part 2 of Art. 364, Part 1 of Art. 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
