"Humanitarian" cars for sale: ESBU exposes a scheme involving over 300 vehicles and 50 million UAH in unpaid taxes

 A business involving vehicles imported into Ukraine as humanitarian aid for the Defense Forces was exposed by detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the city of Kyiv. Currently, more than 300 illegally imported cars have been identified, with the estimated amount of unpaid customs duties exceeding 50 million UAH.

The investigation established that the suspects had set up a scheme to import vehicles under the guise of humanitarian aid—allegedly for the needs of military units. In reality, the cars were not delivered to their intended destinations but were used for commercial sale instead.

To carry out the scheme, members of the group involved controlled charitable foundations. Guarantee letters issued on behalf of military units were submitted to the customs authorities, which allowed the vehicles to be cleared without paying customs duties. Subsequently, the cars, which should have been transferred for the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, were sold via advertisements on social media.

Currently, the investigation has identified more than 300 vehicles that were illegally imported into Ukraine. The estimated amount of unpaid customs duties for these episodes exceeds 50 million UAH.

At the same time, the scale of the scheme could be significantly larger: detectives are checking the suspects' involvement in the illegal import of more than 3,000 vehicles under the guise of humanitarian aid for the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

During authorized searches in the city of Rivne and the Rivne region, detectives seized 8 vehicles, 20 pieces of computer and electronic equipment, incorporation documents, seals and stamps of controlled charitable foundations, as well as funds presumably obtained from illegal activities.

ESBU detectives detained four members of the criminal group in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

The suspects have been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 201-4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal use for profit).

The court selected preventive measures for the suspects in the form of detention with the alternative of bail ranging from 1.6 million UAH to 6 million UAH.

The pretrial investigation is ongoing. Detectives are identifying all individuals involved in the operation of the scheme, as well as the full extent of the damages caused to the state.

Operational support was provided by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Rivne Region, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine in the City of Kyiv and Kyiv Region, as well as the Department for Combating Smuggling and Customs Violations of the State Customs Service.

Procedural guidance in the criminal proceedings was provided by the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office. Tactical support was provided by the DOZOR unit of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

According to Art. Under Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a legally prescribed manner and established by a court verdict of conviction.