BES seizes illegal tobacco production line linked to Alperin

Detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine conducted searches at the production and warehouse facilities of an enterprise licensed to officially produce tobacco products. The company is associated with a well-known Odesa smuggler under sanctions, Vadym Alperin, UNN reports, citing the BES report.

Details

"Detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine conducted searches at the production and warehouse facilities of an enterprise licensed to officially produce tobacco products. The said company is associated with a well-known smuggler from Odesa under sanctions," the statement said.

During the searches, BES officers reportedly seized a tobacco production line that was used to illegally manufacture cigarettes.

Earlier, the BES detectives established that the licensee company, together with controlled companies, illegally produced and sold cigarettes with counterfeit excise tax stamps.

"The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Art. 212 (tax evasion), Part 1 of Art. 366 (entering knowingly false information into official documents), Part 1 of Art. 199 (counterfeiting excise tax stamps, Part 2 of Art. 204 (illegal manufacture and storage of excisable goods) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is being carried out by detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine," the BES said.

The BES reminded that over the past six months, law enforcement officers have seized almost 14.4 million packs of cigarettes as part of the Interagency Working Group. The budget did not receive more than UAH 706 million in taxes from these alone. In total, analysts estimate that since the beginning of 2024, the BES has prevented UAH 339.4 million of excise tax from going to the budget.

Optional

Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, in an exclusive interview with UNN stated that reducing counterfeit tobacco products means increasing profits of legal producers and tax revenues to the budget. At the same time, there should be a clear understanding that only indisputable evidence from forensic experts makes it possible to bring counterfeiters to justice.  

Addendum

In October 2023, the HACC closed the case of Odesa businessman Vadym Alperin on the creation of corruption schemes at customs that caused the state losses of more than UAH 60 million due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation after the person was notified of suspicion. On March 22, 2024, the HACC Appeals Chamber overturned the HACC decision to close Alperin's case and ordered its reconsideration in the court of first instance.

Earlier, UNN wrote that Attollo Granum, a company controlled by businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, obtained half of the Olympex grain terminal through an illegal sale scheme. It actively cooperates with the company of one of the most notorious smugglers in Ukraine - Vadym Alperin, who was sanctioned by the National Security and Defense Council in 2021 and deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. As proof of their cooperation, journalists published a photo of a consignment note under which Attollo Granum shipped wheat to Alperin's company Agiros. At the same time, according to RBC-Ukraine, Alperin's Olympex Coupe terminal can currently handle about 150 thousand tons of grain per month. Even taking into account the lowest price per ton of 150 euros, we can talk about the amount of 22.5 million euros per month, of which the Ukrainian budget receives nothing.