An illegal tobacco factory was uncovered in the Ternopil region

Under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, a person who organized the illegal manufacture and storage of raw tobacco for the purpose of sale has been notified of the charges against them. The clandestine production operation was located in the village of Dnistrove, Chortkiv District. 

During authorized searches, law enforcement officers discovered more than 3.3 metric tons of industrial tobacco, as well as specialized equipment for its preparation, processing, and shredding, including an industrial dryer, a tobacco-shredding machine, and devices for bundling the raw material.

Forensic examinations officially confirmed that the seized products fall under the category of excise goods. The organizer of the illegal operation has been charged with the illegal manufacture of tobacco and the illegal storage for the purpose of selling illegally manufactured excise goods, in accordance with Parts 1 and 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The pretrial investigation is ongoing, and in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Source: Office of the Prosecutor General.

Earlier, under the procedural guidance of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, law enforcement officials uncovered a scheme involving tax evasion on an exceptionally large scale. The investigation established that a so-called “transit-conversion center” had been operating in Dnipro since 2023. Through this center, fuel vouchers worth approximately 218 million hryvnias were sold off the books. The illegal scheme has been shut down, and the investigation is ongoing.

Prosecutors from the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office have served notices of suspicion to two foreign nationals suspected of organizing the distribution of counterfeit foreign currency in the region.