Manufacturers of illegal cigarettes have resumed their activities, despite loud statements by deputies and recent searches of their businesses by law enforcement officers. About this reported journalist Yevhen Plinsky in his Telegram channel.
According to People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, after previous measures against illegal production in Lviv and Ternopil, these enterprises started working again, and many new offers with illegal products appeared in Telegram channels. During the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev also confirmed that law enforcement agencies were unable to stop the criminals, and illegal activities resumed.
“The worst scenario that we predicted is happening. Not only we see it, but our partners see it as well. That is why we expect a very quick response from you to restore the state, which we all noted very highly and praised you back in August. But in September, the situation changed dramatically.” Hetmantsev noted.
The committee recommended the director of the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) to urgently take measures to identify and punish those responsible for the resumption of illegal activities. The State Tax Service (SST) was also called upon to prevent suspected persons from obtaining licenses, and the National Police and SST to check points of retail trade in tobacco products. In addition, it was proposed to increase the fines for illegal trade, stop the illegal import of tobacco products and regulate the e-liquid market.
We will remind, in July 2024, the level of illegal trade in tobacco products in Ukraine significantly decreased to 14.6%, compared to 19.1% at the beginning of the year and 25.7% a year ago. Budget losses from the illegal tobacco market amount to about 23 billion hryvnias annually.
In May 2024, BEB detectives conducted 24 simultaneous searches at production and warehouse facilities of four companies suspected of illegal tobacco production. The work of these factories was temporarily suspended.
