MP's case on smuggling wood through Odesa region sent to court

Detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa region have completed a pre-trial investigation against the MP and his two accomplices and sent an indictment to court.

According to investigators, the men exported timber using forged documents and legalized the money.

During the investigation, detectives found that a deputy of the Dobriansk village council of Chernihiv region, together with a rescuer and a private entrepreneur, had been smuggling timber to the European Union for a year.

The suspects forged certificates of origin and obtained the relevant certificates. For customs clearance, they submitted documents with false information, and to avoid control, they changed checkpoints. In order not to attract the attention of regulatory authorities, the timber was transported through different checkpoints.

In this way, they exported almost 115 cubic meters of timber worth UAH 1 million from Ukraine. The offenders accumulated the proceeds of the illegal exports on a special bank account, which they later legalized.

The suspects were exposed while exporting another batch of smuggled timber through the Starokozache checkpoint in Odesa region. In order to compensate for the damage caused by the criminal offense, the court seized 39 land plots, two residential buildings and the MP's vehicles. The total amount of the seized property is almost UAH 30 million.

Based on the evidence collected, the men were served a notice of suspicion of moving timber across the customs border of Ukraine outside the customs control, forgery, and legalization (laundering) of the proceeds of crime.

Кирило Бойко