The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine hosted a roundtable discussion with representatives of the Ukrtiutiun Association on the latest Kantar survey, the results of the ESBU's work and further counteraction to the illegal cigarette market. The event was attended by Oleksandr Tkachuk, Head of the ESBU detectives, Natalia Fesyun, General Director of the Association ‘Ukrtubyun’, analysts of the ESBU, representatives of legal producers and lawyers.

During the event, the participants discussed new methods of combating illicit tobacco trafficking, negative trends in the industry, in particular, underground tobacco cultivation, and the results of the ESBU work.

As Oleksandr Tkachuk said, from January to March 2025 detectives started more than 70 criminal proceedings over tobacco trafficking and seized three cigarette production lines.

In addition, the Head of the ESBU detectives noted that, according to the State Tax Service, in January-March, the budget received UAH 38.7 billion in excise tax. This is almost 62% more than in the same period last year. The main factor behind this growth is the payment of excise duty on manufactured and imported tobacco products.

In her turn, Natalia Fesyun, CEO of the Association ‘Ukrtutyun’ paid attention to the importance of continuing the systematic work of law enforcement and regulatory authorities, as well as the rapid adoption of important draft laws for the industry.

‘Draft Law No. 9364 on improving liability for illicit trafficking of excisable goods was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading back in April 2024. Despite the fact that the legal industry generally supports this draft law and, accordingly, the strengthening of administrative and criminal liability for illicit trafficking of excisable goods, it still remains in the status of revision for the second reading,’ Fesyun said.

The participants also discussed current proposals that will help reduce the share of the shadow tobacco market in Ukraine.

‘Legal tobacco manufacturers propose to create a library of finished product samples, to which all Ukrainian cigarette manufacturers must submit samples of their finished products. The library will allow trace evidence to quickly identify illegal products and the equipment used to manufacture them. This will significantly improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight the illegal market and help reduce the level of the shadow tobacco market in Ukraine,’ said Yevhen Kuzmenko, Regulatory Affairs Manager at JTI Ukraine.

In addition, the participants discussed the impact of the changes initiated by the ESBU in licensing tobacco cultivation by enterprises and the trends currently observed by the Bureau's experts in this segment. In particular, they discussed the increase in the number of detected cases of illegal tobacco cultivation.

‘Thanks to the measures taken, we managed to reduce the smuggling of raw materials for cigarettes. Currently, detectives are focused on exposing companies that grow tobacco without a licence in Odesa, Khmelnytsky and Lviv regions. In total, more than 101,407 kg of such tobacco has already been seized,’ said Oleksandr Tkachuk.

They also discussed the ban on e-cigarettes, refill containers and liquids used in them with a characteristic smell or taste and the need to strengthen control over this issue by the competent authorities.

At the end of the event, the participants agreed on further steps to cooperate in combating the illegal tobacco market.