The SBU exposed a businessman from Lviv who supplied Rolls-Royces and Maybachs to the Russian Federation to circumvent sanctions
Cyber specialists and investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine eliminated a large-scale scheme of illegal export of sanctioned premium cars to the Russian Federation.
A Lviv businessman who previously lived in Russia and has his own business there is involved in the organization of the facility.
Figurant took advantage of the fact that most of the world’s car companies left the Russian market. In particular, the businessman set up a scheme to transport luxury cars to the territory of Russia to bypass international trade restrictions.
Among the customers of sanctioned products were representatives of the top management of the Kremlin monopoly Gazprom and the propaganda TV channel Russia Today.
It was established that from August 2022 to March 2023, the dealer illegally transported 45 cars to Russian “customers” for a total amount of more than 3 million euros.
In order to implement the scheme, the person involved bought premium vehicles from Ukrainian car dealerships and registered them for controlled commercial structures.
Then, using forged documents, he transported them in transit through the territory of the European Union to Belarus, and from there to Russia.
In addition, the businessman submitted an application to the State Tax Service of Ukraine for a VAT refund for a total amount of more than UAH 6 million.
Employees of the Security Service exposed this device and blocked it.
During searches of the attacker’s places of stay in Kyiv and Lviv, the following was found:
▪️ 35 seals of enterprises, including offshore companies, involved in the “scheme”;
▪️ financial and economic documentation, mobile phones and computers with evidence of illegal activity.
Also, at the request of the SBU, the property of the participants in the scheme was seized for a total amount of more than UAH 700 million.
The list of blocked assets includes corporate rights to 17 enterprises, more than fifty non-residential industrial premises in various regions of Ukraine, including Crimea, 22 apartments in Kyiv and Lviv, almost three dozen land plots and more than 40 luxury cars.
Based on the collected evidence, the organizer of the criminal scheme was notified of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
▪️ Part 1 Art. 111-2 (assistance to the aggressor state);
▪️ Part 2 Art. 28, Part 2 of Art. 366 (official forgery);
▪️ Part 5 Art. 191 (appropriation of other people’s property by abuse by an official of his official position in particularly large amounts).
The SBU is taking comprehensive measures to bring him to justice.
The investigation was conducted under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office and in cooperation with the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine.