Five years in prison for illegal cigarette sales and money laundering: Odesa court passes sentence

 According to the materials from detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region, an Odesa court found a man guilty of selling illegally manufactured excisable goods. The suspect was sentenced to 5 years in prison with the confiscation and destruction of the cigarettes.

During the pre-trial investigation, detectives established that the individual involved was not registered as an entrepreneur. Nevertheless, for two years, without a license to trade excisable goods, he illegally resold tobacco products via Telegram channels.

To avoid suspicion, he sent the orders by mail, using fictitious sender details.

The individual involved stored the goods in a house in the "Sovinyon" residential area. During the search, the ESBU detectives seized almost 56 thousand packs of cigarettes, mobile and office equipment, draft records, and a car. The seized property, valued at almost 5.5 million UAH, has been seized.

Over two years of illegal activity, the suspect sold 200 boxes of cigarettes, 500 packs in each, to his accomplices. In this way, he received 7.8 million UAH in income. Subsequently, these funds were laundered by cashing them out through ATMs, transferring them to the bank accounts of other individuals, and also used to purchase goods and services.

The court found the suspect guilty of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal acquisition for the purpose of sale, storage for this purpose, sale and transportation for the purpose of sale of illegally manufactured excisable goods) and Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (legalization (laundering) of proceeds obtained from crime).

The man was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment, with a 2-year probationary period.

Procedural guidance was provided by the prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.