Illegal movement of goods worth UAH 66 million exposed in Lviv region
Kyiv • UNN
The customs officer and the carrier are suspected of smuggling goods across the border. The seized equipment was sold at auctions, paying over UAH 15 million in customs duties to the budget.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), with the operational support of the Security Service of Ukraine in Lviv region, served a notice of suspicion to an official of the Lviv Customs and a citizen of Ukraine. According to the investigation, their actions led to the illegal movement of goods outside customs control and non-payment of mandatory customs duties in the amount of more than UAH 15 million. This was reported by the SAPO, UNN reports.
Details
According to the investigation, in April 2023, the customs officer facilitated the illegal transportation of mobile phones, headphones, tablets, laptops and monoblocks of various brands totaling more than UAH 66 million across the state border of Ukraine at the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv international automobile checkpoint. For this purpose, the official entered false information into the automated customs clearance system “Inspector”, stating that the vehicle was empty. Thanks to the professional actions of the SBU operatives, the truck was stopped and the goods were seized.
Subsequently, the seized goods were transferred by the SAPO and NABU to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), where they were sold at auctions. So far, the winners of the auctions have paid customs duties to the state budget totaling over UAH 15 million.
The actions of the customs officer were classified under Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position), Part 1 of Article 366 (forgery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and the actions of the carrier - under Part 3 of Article 212 (tax evasion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and investigators are identifying other possible persons involved.
According to part 1 of Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until his or her guilt is proved in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict of guilty.
