97 million UAH, 117 tonnes of alcohol: how contraband was imported into Ukraine under the guise of car care products

 Over 117 tonnes of ethyl alcohol and methanol, the value of which exceeded 97 million UAH, were illegally imported into Ukraine under the guise of car care products. Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Kyiv region sent an indictment to court regarding the large-scale smuggling.

During the pretrial investigation, investigators established that the enterprise ordered the cargo in the Republic of Turkey and transported it by tank trucks. During customs clearance, the dealers declared the goods as a motor fuel additive, "Fuel Additive Solvent." In reality, the tanks contained concentrated ethyl alcohol and methanol.

The verification of documents with the Turkish side showed a match of data regarding the sender, recipient, transport, and weight. However, the name of the goods, the UKT ZED (Ukrainian Classification of Goods of Foreign Economic Activity) code, and the real value were falsified to bypass customs control.

During authorized searches at the places of residence of the suspects, ESBU detectives seized rough notes, computer equipment, seals of third-party legal entities, and financial documentation.

The total value of the illegally moved goods amounted to nearly over 97 million UAH.

The actions of the suspects are qualified under Part 2 of Article 201-4, Part 2 of Article 205-1, Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28, and Part 4 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (smuggling of exciseable goods, forgery of enterprise registration documents, aiding and abetting, and the use of forged papers by a group of persons).

Operational support is carried out by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine. Procedural guidance – prosecutors of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.