SBU officers, together with other law enforcement agencies, carried out a large-scale special operation to eliminate criminal schemes at customs in Kyiv and three border regions.
Exposing criminal schemes at customs
As part of a special operation, within 24 hours the SBU detained a State Customs Service official in Kyiv and blocked transactions in three border regions at once.
In particular, in Kiev , the deputy director of the Department of International Cooperation of the State Customs Service was detained for taking a bribe, who “earned money” from draft dodgers and foreign migrants.
Now watching
For money, he recruited conscripts as “public diplomats” for a capital city public association working on behalf of a well-known international organization.
In addition, the official is suspected of receiving bribes from illegal migrants from the Middle East, to whom he promised assistance in avoiding deportation and leaving for the EU for various amounts.
The defendant and his accomplice are being charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Photo: SBU
Photo: SBU
Photo: SBU
Another five illegal transactions were eliminated at customs in other regions.
In Odessa , four officials from the local customs department for combating smuggling were exposed; they demanded money from entrepreneurs for not creating artificial obstacles when exporting goods outside of Ukraine.
Also, searches were conducted here at the offices of officials of one of the customs posts who took bribes for customs clearance of products without paying customs duties.
In the Volyn region, regional customs officials were exposed for unfounded clearance of duty-free imports of foreign cars, which caused damage to the state budget by 2.7 million UAH.
In Chernivtsi Oblast, local customs officials facilitated the smuggling of more than 250 boxes of cigarettes worth a total of UAH 11 million into the EU.
What punishment will the defendants face?
Investigations into these facts, initiated under several articles of the Criminal Code, are ongoing:
- Part 1 of Article 114-1 (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period);
- Art. 368 (acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an undue benefit by an official);
- Art. 369-2 (abuse of influence);
- Part 3 of Article 201-3 (smuggling of goods);
- Art. 190 (fraud);
- Art. 364 (abuse of power or official position).
The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
For the first half of 2025, based on the SBU materials, the State Customs Service drew up 113 administrative protocols on violation of customs rules, as a result of which more than UAH 157 million was additionally credited to the state budget.
During the same period, contraband worth more than UAH 62 million was seized.
