BES stops cigarette smuggling in Odesa port

In the Odesa seaport, the BES detectives found a container of Marvel cigarettes without excise stamps ready for export. This is another tax evasion scheme in the ports of Odesa.

An Intent correspondent asked Tetiana Bezhenar, Chief Specialist of the BES Communications Sector in Odesa Oblast, for a comment.

The official said that the official data is still being coordinated. As for the searches in the port, investigative actions are ongoing, so no further details can be provided.

According to Odesa-based journalist Iryna Hryb, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa region conducted another search in the ports of Greater Odesa, this time in the Odesa seaport. According to the journalist, the detectives found a container of Marvel cigarettes without excise stamps, ready for export.

The manufacturer of the batch is Lviv Cigarette Factory, and the "exporter" is National Producer LLC. According to Iryna Hryb, the scheme was to send cigarettes abroad without paying taxes, which became another criminal story at the port.

According to the journalist, this is only the beginning of the inspections, and new "sensational findings" in Odesa ports are expected in the near future.

In May, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv arrested a marine transshipment and warehouse complex for grain cargo in Odesa region. The investigation revealed that it belonged to a company associated with a well-known Ukrainian businessman against whom the National Security and Defense Council had previously imposed personal sanctions. According to law enforcement, this particular company was involved in a scheme to illegally withdraw property from the National Bank's pledge.

Earlier this year, the BES detectives exposed a group of companies in the field of storage and transshipment of agricultural products that evaded paying UAH 30 million in income tax. The companies are part of a holding company registered in the UAE, which is already involved in criminal cases due to non-transparent activities and debts to American investment funds.

Анна Бальчінос