Smuggling cars from the EU disguised as humanitarian aid: the case has been forwarded to the court

 In the Lviv region, the pre-trial investigation has been completed regarding a man who organized the illegal importation of vehicles from EU countries under the guise of humanitarian aid. The indictment has been forwarded to the court.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Lviv region established that between March and October 2025, the suspect purchased 14 cars in EU countries and illegally imported them into Ukraine, concealing them from customs control. For this purpose, he used various charitable foundations, registering the vehicles as humanitarian aid.

After importation, the cars were placed in a car lot in the city of Uman, Cherkasy region, where potential buyers inspected them. The suspect searched for clients and advertised the vehicles through an Instagram account.

The total value of the illegally imported vehicles exceeds UAH 2.2 million.

Detectives have completed the pre-trial investigation. The suspect's actions have been qualified under Part 1 of Article 201-4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (smuggling of excisable goods), and the indictment has been sent to the court.

The prosecution was supervised by the prosecutors of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor's Office. The pre-trial investigation was carried out with the operational support of the 6th Volyn Border Guard Detachment and the Strategic Investigations Department in the Volyn region of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict of guilty.