Сriminal organization at Volyn Customs: new suspects
On April 3, 2024, NABU and SAPO notified four officials of Volyn Customs of suspicion of illegal minimization of customs payments and participation in a criminal scheme that caused UAH 475 million in losses to the state. Thus, the circle of suspects in this criminal investigation has expanded to 20 individuals.
According to the investigation, during 2018-2019, participants of the criminal organization, under the guidance of a former law enforcement officer, in collusion with officials of the Volyn Customs, engaged in illicit trafficking of high-value goods (mobile phones, computer equipment, clothing from renowned brands, etc.) through the Yahodyn international checkpoint, underreporting customs payments to the state budget.
In this scheme, imported valuable goods were masked under 'cover items' with significantly lower declared values. The role of officials at the Volyn Customs was to facilitate the customs clearance of these items without proper diligence. They filed fraudulent reports of customs inspections, entered false information into the "Inspector" automated customs clearance system, and deliberately failed to take action to stop the criminal scheme.
Overall, nine Volyn Customs officials and eleven other persons have been charged in this case.
Their actions fall under Part 1 Art. 255, Part 2, 3 Art. 212, Part 2 Art. 364, Part 1 Art. 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The investigation is ongoing. NABU and SAPO are identifying other possible members of the criminal organization.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.