A scheme to smuggle foreigners through fake jobs was uncovered in Odesa

Authorities in Odesa are investigating a possible scheme to illegally smuggle foreigners across Ukraine’s state border under the guise of fictitious employment. A court has seized the phone of one alleged participant in the scheme. 

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa issued the corresponding ruling on November 4.

According to the investigation, law enforcement officials are establishing the circumstances surrounding the activities of a group of an unknown number of people who, for monetary compensation, organized the illegal smuggling of foreign nationals across the Ukrainian border.

According to investigators, the group’s members produced documents containing false information about the employment of foreign nationals at Ukrainian companies. To do so, they used the details of companies that were not actually involved in hiring these individuals or had no intention of employing them.

The prepared documents were submitted to regional employment centers to obtain permits for the employment of foreign nationals and stateless persons. Afterward, the foreign nationals applied to Ukrainian diplomatic missions to obtain long-term Category D visas.

Upon entering Ukraine, they were required to apply to the State Migration Service to obtain temporary residence permits. According to investigators, the ultimate goal of this scheme was to legalize the foreigners’ stay in Ukraine with the intention of subsequently traveling to European Union countries.

The case files mention five companies whose details could have been used to arrange fictitious employment. These are the companies “Helenium,” “5AP,” “Global Greenfood,” “5AP Recruitment Hub,” and “Danube Resource.”

Investigators also established the possible involvement of a man in the group’s activities; his residence was searched on September 30, 2026. During the search, two cell phones were seized—an iPhone 13 Pro Max and an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

While examining the iPhone 13 Pro Max, investigators found information relevant to the investigation into the forgery of employment contracts with foreign nationals. No such data was found on the second phone—the iPhone 16 Pro Max. As a result, the judge ordered the seizure of the phone containing the evidence.

Анна Літман