Manufacturing of falsified alcohol and bribery attempt: ESBU referred the case to the court

 Detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine have referred an indictment to the court regarding the organizer of a scheme for the illegal manufacture and sale of counterfeit alcoholic beverages, who planned to bribe an ESBU official.

The investigation established that upon learning about the pre-trial investigation, the man, in an attempt to avoid criminal liability, offered an improper benefit of USD 4,000 to a detective from one of theTerritorial Offices of the ESBU.

Based on this fact, he was additionally charged under Part 3 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — offering an improper benefit to an official.

The bribery was planned to influence the course of the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings regarding the activities of a group of five individuals led by the organizer. They had established a full cycle of illegal business, from the manufacture and storage to the transportation and sale of counterfeit alcoholic beverages in one of the regions of Ukraine.

The organizer of the scheme had previously been held criminally liable for the illegal turnover of excisable goods; however, despite this, he returned to illegal activities and involved accomplices.

All individuals involved have been notified of suspicion under Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal manufacture, storage, transportation, and sale of excisable goods, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.

Operational support in the criminal proceedings was provided by detectives of the Department of Internal Security and Protection of Employees of the ESBU. Procedural guidance was carried out by prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General.