Alcohol disguised as diplomatic cargo: scheme worth over 4 million hryvnias exposed. VIDEO+PHOTOS
Prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, in collaboration with detectives from the Economic Security Bureau, have uncovered a group that had organised the import of alcohol into Ukraine under the guise of diplomatic cargo, with the intention of subsequently selling it on the domestic market.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to Censor.NET.
Details
Six suspects have been charged with large-scale smuggling of excise goods and the illegal storage, transport and sale of alcoholic beverages.
According to the investigation, the suspects used their connections in the diplomatic missions of foreign states in Ukraine. This allowed them to declare the cargo as intended for official use and therefore exempt from taxation.
Under this cover, well-known brands of alcohol worth over 4 million hryvnias were brought into Ukraine
After customs clearance, the goods were removed from the warehouses, distributed to garages and storage facilities, and sold to end consumers.
In this way, the alcoholic products were put up for sale, which is prohibited by Ukrainian law.
The seized goods have been impounded. The court set bail for the five suspects at nearly 1 million hryvnias each.
