Former Ukrainian Defense Official Helped Russian Citizen Import €210K Ferrari and Hid Over ₴17 Million in Assets
In May 2022, a luxurious Ferrari Roma was stopped at the Rava-Ruska customs checkpoint. While officially registered to a Ukrainian lawyer and former acting director of a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Defense, the vehicle was in fact intended for a Russian citizen residing in the EU who also held a Panamanian passport.
According to an investigation led by the Office of the Prosecutor General, the car was purchased in Germany for €210,000. Two Russian nationals, aiming to avoid paying taxes, enlisted the help of the Ukrainian official to import the vehicle under the wartime zero customs duty policy for Ukrainian citizens. Ferrari entered Ukraine on May 3 and left for Paris by May 7. This scheme allowed them to bypass over €63,000 in mandatory fees, making it one of the most expensive wartime vehicles brought in without paying customs.
The lawyer declared in official documents that he bought the car with funds borrowed from a legal acquaintance. However, prosecutors found that he personally paid just €1,500, while the remaining amount came from the Russian buyer.
Further examination of his 2022–2023 asset declarations revealed more discrepancies. In the section on corporate rights, the lawyer claimed 100% ownership of a company valued at ₴10.95 million, whereas official data valued the stake at just ₴1,000.
In total, the amount of undeclared or falsely declared assets exceeded ₴17.4 million — qualifying as a “particularly large amount” under Ukrainian law.
To preserve evidence, prosecutors obtained a court order to seize the Ferrari Roma. Although the car is currently outside Ukraine, a legal ban on its sale or transfer remains in place.
The former official, now a practicing lawyer, has been formally charged under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for submitting false information in declarations exceeding 2,500 subsistence minimums.
This case exemplifies how journalistic investigations can lead to full-scale criminal proceedings with real legal consequences. While the court verdict is still pending, justice is expected to follow Ukrainian law.