The High Anti-Corruption Court has taken into custody one of the suspects in the case of organizing a corruption scheme at the Chernivtsi customs that caused UAH 290 million in losses to the state. The HACC set him bail in the amount of UAH 60 million, the NABU said on Thursday, UNN reports.
"The HACC chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention with an alternative of UAH 60 million bail for one of the suspects - a co-organizer of the criminal organization at the Chernivtsi customs," the NABU said in a statement.
Recall
As UNN wrote , NABU and SAPO exposed a criminal organization that included well-known entrepreneurs from Chernivtsi and officials of the Chernivtsi Customs, including its former head, a former deputy of the Chernivtsi Regional Council. Their actions to minimize customs payments under the so-called "gray" import scheme caused almost UAH 290 million in losses to the state.
As the investigation established, the participants organized the illegal importation of highly liquid goods from Turkey (clothing, footwear, accessories) through the Vadul-Siret customs post, registering the transport with them as empty or disguising them with cover goods (fabric, chipboard, bricks) with a much lower customs value.
Under the latter scheme, customs officials used forged documents to ensure that trucks were allowed to pass through the customs post without customs inspection. Later, the vehicles were transported to the warehouses of entrepreneurs, where highly liquid goods were unloaded and sold, and the cover goods loaded instead were delivered to the Chernivtsi customs post to complete the clearance and pay the understated payments.
Currently, 11 members of the criminal organization are suspected: three Chernivtsi Customs officials and eight individuals.
Their actions are qualified under Part 1 of Article 255, Part 2 of Article 364, Part 3 of Article 212, Part 4 of Article 345-1, Part 3 of Article 368, Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
One co-organizer of the criminal organization and four participants were detained in accordance with Art. 208 of the CPC of Ukraine.