A large-scale operation producing counterfeit household cleaning products has been uncovered in Kharkiv
Law enforcement officials shut down workshops in Kharkiv that were producing counterfeit household cleaning products, which were sold under the guise of well-known brands throughout Ukraine. According to the investigation, the organizers may have earned up to 5 million hryvnias per month.
This was reported on Friday, May 1, by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
In Kharkiv, prosecutors, together with border guards, conducted authorized searches and dismantled a large-scale scheme for the production and distribution of counterfeit household chemicals disguised as products of well-known global brands.
The counterfeits were sold as originals, particularly through supermarkets, markets, popular online platforms, and social media, effectively covering the entire country.
In specially equipped facilities, substances of unknown origin were mixed, packaged into large containers, and labeled to resemble the brand’s packaging as closely as possible. All of this was done to pass off the counterfeit product as high-quality and certified.
Brand representatives confirmed that none of these “product lines” exist, and that original products are not manufactured in such packaging.
According to preliminary estimates, the organizers’ monthly profit reached about 5 million hryvnias. During the searches, finished products, raw materials, and equipment worth about 10 million hryvnias were seized.
A pre-trial investigation is ongoing into the illegal use of a trademark, trade name, and other intellectual property rights, which caused significant financial damage, as well as the laundering of proceeds obtained through criminal means.
The investigation is being led by prosecutors from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Novobavarskyi District Prosecutor’s Office in Kharkiv.
Earlier in Zaporizhzhia, a doctor and a pharmacist set up a scheme to sell unregistered medications.
Law enforcement officials dismantled a large-scale distribution network for narcotic vapes and sweets.
In Volyn, a large-scale scheme for the illegal production and sale of fuel was uncovered.
