In the Lviv region, an indictment has been sent to court against a 60-year-old resident of the Sheptytskyi district, who is accused of organising a scheme for the illegal import and sale of cars under the guise of humanitarian aid for the Defence Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, the man was the nominal head of a charitable foundation, registered in advance to cover up unlawful activities. He organised the import from European Union countries, in particular from Latvia and Lithuania, of vehicles which were declared in the documents as being intended for defence needs, which made it possible to evade the payment of customs duties.
During customs clearance, the foundation’s details were indicated in the documents, although in fact the cars were imported for subsequent sale. The direct import of the vehicles was carried out by hired drivers, and some of the vehicles were transported by the accused himself. The registration certificates stated “Humanitarian aid. Sale prohibited”, however, according to the investigation, the man sold these cars for cash to individuals who are not military personnel and have no right to use such vehicles.
The case mainly concerns mid-range SUVs and crossovers, including Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Captiva and Opel Frontera, as well as premium-segment vehicles Audi Q7 and Volvo V50. The price depended on the condition and class of the car; in particular, the accused sold a Kia Sorento for 4,000 US dollars.
It has been documented that between September and November last year he transported a total of 17 vehicles with an overall value of almost UAH 2.2 million. The formal head of the foundation is charged with large-scale smuggling, as well as entering knowingly false information into documents for the state registration of a legal entity and the deliberate submission of such documents (Part 1 of Article 201-4, Part 1 of Article 201-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
While supporting the prosecution, prosecutors of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office plan to initiate the confiscation of these vehicles with their subsequent transfer to meet the needs of the Armed Forces 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 6th Volyn Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Strategic Investigations Department in the Volyn region of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine.
Pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.