A large-scale scheme involving the illegal production and sale of fuel has been uncovered in Volyn
The Volyn Regional Prosecutor's Office has uncovered an interregional network operating in the Volyn and Rivne regions that was involved in the production and sale of counterfeit fuel.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Under the guise of a legitimate business, the group’s members established a full production cycle in makeshift workshops, where they mixed diesel fuel with gas condensate. The finished product was sold through a network of partner gas stations, using cash transactions and accounts of controlled companies to launder proceeds and evade taxes.
During authorized searches, law enforcement officers seized over 80,000 liters of fuel, quantities of gas condensate, as well as equipment for pumping and bottling the products. In addition to equipment and rough records, significant amounts of cash were seized: 2.7 million UAH, approximately 230,000 USD, and over 7,000 EUR. The suspects’ actions have been classified under articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the illegal production of excise goods and money laundering.
Currently, the issue of placing a lien on all seized property is being resolved, and the full circle of individuals involved in the operation of the scheme is being identified. Investigative actions are ongoing under the procedural supervision of the prosecutor’s office. In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, every person is presumed innocent until their guilt is officially proven in court.
Earlier, the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine reported that as part of efforts to bring the fuel market out of the shadows, the number of illegal gas stations in several regions has significantly decreased. According to the agency’s estimates, this has generated additional revenue for the state budget and positively impacted the transparency of the fuel market.
The Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv handed down a verdict to Vitalii Chernenko, a former employee of the Economic Security Bureau, who attempted to extort a huge sum from business owners.
