Customs officer detained in Zakarpattia for scheme of duty-free import of luxury watches
Kyiv • UNN
The acting head of the internal control department of the Zakarpattia customs was detained for organizing the illegal import of luxury watches without paying customs duties. The official received 3,850 US dollars for importing watches worth over 3.2 million UAH.
Law enforcement officers detained the acting head of the internal control department of the Zakarpattia Customs, who is suspected of organizing the illegal import of luxury watches into Ukraine without paying customs duties for a reward. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, as reported by UNN.
Details
According to the investigation, in November-December 2025, the official established a channel for transporting luxury watches, including Swiss-made ones, across the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. The goods were declared as personal belongings or transported among other items to avoid customs control and tax payments.
The import was carried out on pre-determined days through various customs posts. The process was controlled by the official himself or persons under his control. One of the conditions for unhindered border crossing was the payment of 5% of the value of the goods.
For the first episode, the suspect involved his own wife, who imported two watches with a total value of over 22 thousand US dollars. For this, he received 1,100 US dollars in illegal benefits. During subsequent trips, the customs officer transported some of the goods personally.
In total, the illegal import of watches worth over 3.2 million hryvnias has been documented. For the provided "services", the official received 3,850 US dollars.
On January 1, 2026, he was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine immediately after receiving part of the illegal benefit in the amount of 2,750 US dollars for the import of four watches. He was notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (receiving illegal benefits by an official holding a responsible position). The prosecutor's office applied to the court with a request to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention and suspension of the suspect from his position.
Recall
A 74-year-old pensioner in Kyiv gave more than 1.4 million hryvnias to fraudsters who introduced themselves as SBU employees. They promised to check her savings for involvement with the aggressor country.