(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have served suspicion notices to three individuals accused of smuggling almost 97 million hryvnias worth of ethyl and methyl alcohol into the country. At the current exchange rate, that sum equals approximately 2.3 million US dollars or 1.8 million British pounds.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced the case on Friday. It said the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office is leading the procedural supervision. Notices have been issued to the organiser of the scheme and two others who carried it out.
Investigators found that the suspects arranged the import of large batches of excisable alcohol while hiding the shipments from customs control. In the paperwork, the cargo was declared as a fuel additive solvent. The name and commodity code were altered to disguise the true nature of the goods.
The group used a company registered under a front person to bring the alcohol into Ukraine. Documents containing knowingly false information about the actual contents of the cargo were submitted to customs bodies.
Law enforcement officials established that more than 117 tonnes of ethyl and methyl alcohol were moved across the state border using this method. The shipments took place during September and October of 2024.
Investigators also determined that the lorry drivers were not informed about the real nature of the cargo they were transporting.
The actions of the suspects have been classified under several articles of Ukraine’s criminal code. These cover moving excisable goods across the customs border of Ukraine while concealing them from customs control, carried out by a group of persons acting in prior agreement and on a large scale.
The charges also include entering knowingly false information into documents submitted for the state registration of a legal entity, carried out by a group of persons acting in prior agreement, as well as using knowingly forged documents, also carried out by a group of persons acting in prior agreement.
The investigation continues. In a separate case previously reported by The Daily Handle, a person involved in a scheme for the illegal sale of ethyl alcohol was extradited from Moldova.