Multi-million dollar shadow transportation scheme to the EU uncovered in Zakarpattia

In Zakarpattia, law enforcement officers exposed a multi-million dollar tax evasion scheme during the organization of bus routes to EU countries. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Details

The investigation established that the carrier transported passengers to the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, but sold a significant portion of tickets outside official ticket offices.

Passengers booked seats online through controlled entrepreneurs and paid cash to drivers during boarding, which was often organized outside bus stations. Some payments were accepted in foreign currency, but the received funds were not reflected in the reports. According to operational data, up to a hundred tickets could be sold in just one day, and a total of about 200,000 passengers were transported during 2024-2026

During searches, including on the territory of the bus station, more than 10,000 US dollars, about 30,000 euros, almost 20,000 Czech crowns, and 15,000 hryvnias were found and seized, as well as equipment, documents, and records of "shadow" accounting.

The detainees were notified of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 212 and Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - tax evasion and legalization of criminally obtained proceeds.

Recall

The Security Service of Ukraine exposed an organized group that was engaged in the serial production and sale of forged documents imitating official law enforcement identification.