Counterfeit products were sold on the territory of Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. As a result of the illegal actions of the attackers, the right-holder company was damaged in the amount of more than 230,000 hryvnias. In addition, law enforcement officers seized counterfeit products worth about 800,000 hryvnias.
The organizer, a 35-year-old resident of the city of Chernivtsi, and three executors, residents of the Chernivtsi region aged 24, 35 and 45, who produced and sold counterfeit products under the brand name of a well-known brand, were exposed by the operatives of the Office for Countering Cybercrimes in the Lviv Region together with the investigators of the Department of Investigation of Particularly Serious Crimes of crimes (detectives) of the investigative department of the police of the Lviv region, under the procedural guidance of the Lviv regional prosecutor’s office.
As the law enforcement officers established, from June to October 2022, criminals organized workshops for the production of counterfeit products in the Lviv and Chernivtsi regions, which were packed in containers with trademarks, labels and counter-labels of a well-known brand, and sold counterfeit products through Internet resources and mobile applications.
In the course of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the places of residence of the defendants, in workshops for the production of counterfeit products and warehouses in the Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. During the searches, falsified products, fake labels, packaging containers and other evidence of illegal activities were discovered and seized.
As the law enforcement officers established, the illegal actions of the intruders caused damage to the copyright company in the total amount of more than 230 thousand hryvnias. Counterfeit products worth more than 800,000 hryvnias were also seized.
The investigators informed the organizer and members of the organized criminal group about the suspicion of committing offenses provided for in part 3 of article 229 (Illegal use of a mark for goods and services, company name, qualified indication of the origin of goods) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and part 2 of article 15 – part .3 of Article 229 (Attempt to illegally use signs for goods and services committed by an organized group, repeatedly, which could cause material damage in a large amount) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for punishment – a fine from ten thousand to fifteen thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years or without such.
The pre-trial investigation has been completed. The indictment has been referred to the court.
Communications Department of the Lviv Oblast Police