In the Lviv region, an indictment has been submitted to court against a 35-year-old foreign national accused of organising the import of cars from the EU under the guise of humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, between July and November 2024 the man set up a scheme for importing vehicles from EU countries using the details of a fictitious charity foundation. The head of this foundation was already convicted in March 2025 for document forgery.
To transport the cars, the accused involved 13 drivers who, according to the investigation, were unaware of his intentions. They travelled abroad, collected the vehicles and brought them into Ukraine through the “Shehyni–Medyka” and “Ustyluh” crossing points. At customs, the vehicles were declared as humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces, which made it possible to avoid paying customs duties.
The investigation established that after crossing the border the cars never reached the military. The accused used them for his own needs or put them up for sale via messaging apps, with payments from buyers made in cash.
In total, 16 cars were imported under this scheme, including a BMW 745i, Mercedes-Benz E 220, Audi A6, Jeep Cherokee, Toyota RAV4, Volkswagen Passat, Skoda Superb and others. Their estimated market value is almost UAH 2 million. During a special operation, law enforcement officers halted the man’s activities and seized 7 cars.
The foreign national is charged with moving excisable goods across the customs border of Ukraine while concealing them from customs control, committed on a significant scale (Part 1 of Article 201-4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Lviv region with operational support from the Strategic Investigations Department in the Lviv region of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department and the Security Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region.
In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and may not be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt has been proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.