A scheme involving the fraudulent customs clearance of vehicles in Volyn resulted in losses of 800 million hryvnias
A large-scale scheme involving the use of forged EUR.1 certificates for customs clearance of vehicles operated in Volyn for years, resulting in a loss of at least 800 million hryvnias to Ukraine’s state budget.
This is according to an investigation by the Center for Investigative Journalism “The Power of Truth,” as reported by “Our Money.”
The preferential document, which confirms the European origin of goods and is issued free of charge in the EU for vehicles with at least 60% local content, was massively forged to reduce or completely eliminate import duties.
The peak of illegal schemes occurred in 2023–2024, when the Volyn Customs Office granted preferences totaling over 2 billion hryvnias. At the end of 2023, European customs authorities officially informed the Ukrainian side that nearly 90% of the documents inspected (26,000 out of 28,000) showed signs of forgery. The number of involved importing companies, registered primarily in Lutsk and Rivne, grew each year and reached 79 firms in 2024. After investigations began, these companies started massively changing their founders and re-registering in other regions of the country.
In January 2026, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches at the “Lutsk” customs post and in the offices of the involved companies, seizing over $850,000 in cash and documentation detailing the distribution of illicit profits. According to the investigation, the forms were printed directly in Rivne, and the monthly “cash flow” of the scheme, which operated exclusively in Volyn, reached $1 million. At a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission in March 2026, former Customs Chief Dmytro Stasenko assured that such violations had been completely stopped in 2025. Currently, the Economic Security Bureau has proven that, according to the documents, the vehicles never left Poland, and NABU is investigating the involvement in corruption of the deputy head of the customs clearance department and the senior inspector of the “Lutsk” customs post.
The Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office has filed an indictment against four members of an organized group. According to the investigation, they sold nonexistent cars to the army under the guise of volunteer aid and defrauded 11 military personnel. Another participant has been placed on the wanted list.
An alternative bill, No. 15195-1, has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, providing for customs clearance benefits for military personnel. The bill proposes exempting active-duty and mobilized military personnel from paying VAT and excise taxes when importing cars into Ukraine.
