The case against five participants in a scheme to steal cars in the EU has been sent to court
Kyiv • UNN
Five Ukrainians will stand trial for stealing five expensive cars in France as part of the international Matador operation. They face up to 12 years in prison.
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have sent an indictment to court against five members of an organized group who were part of an international scheme to illegally seize expensive cars in EU countries. This is reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office, according to UNN.
Details
The investigation was conducted as part of the international special operation Matador. According to the investigation, the group included more than 50 citizens of various countries, each of whom performed a specific role.
In May 2024, law enforcement officers conducted around 70 searches in France, Spain, Poland, Latvia, Germany, and Ukraine. In October 2025, the group members were notified of suspicion. The investigation established that from December 2022 to May 2023, the group members rented cars from French rental companies using forged driving licenses. They subsequently handed them over to other members, who altered the vehicles’ identification data and blocked GPS signals.
After that, the cars were transported for legalization, resale, or dismantling for spare parts. As part of the proceedings, the illegal seizure in France of five cars was established: Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 218, Audi E-tron, BMW 420i, and BMW 530 XDrive
The five accused will stand trial for the illegal seizure of vehicles, forgery and use of knowingly forged documents - under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 289, Part 3 of Article 27, and Parts 3 and 4 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The sanctions under these articles provide for imprisonment for up to 12 years.
Recall
Earlier, UNN reported that another participant in a fraudulent "bookmaking" scheme from Kryvyi Rih had been extradited to Ukraine.