Court Rejects Request to Seize Passports in Case Involving Sale of Humanitarian Aid in Odesa

Law enforcement officials were denied permission to seize the foreign passports confiscated during a search in connection with the case involving the sale of humanitarian aid vehicles in Odesa. The court cited the fact that the owner of the documents is not a suspect, and therefore restricting his right to travel abroad is unlawful.

This is stated in a ruling by the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

The investigating judge cited several key reasons for refusing to seize the passports. First and foremost, the man whose foreign passports were seized during the search is not a party to this case. Law enforcement authorities have not formally charged him with any involvement in a crime, so he has the status of a witness or a third party.

The court also noted that seizing foreign passports deprives a person of the ability to freely travel outside Ukraine. This directly violates their right to freedom of movement, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Furthermore, the court deemed these measures excessive. Prosecutors insisted that the passports were necessary as evidence due to the border-crossing stamps they contained. However, the court noted that it was not necessary to seize the documents themselves for this purpose. Investigators can officially obtain all information regarding a person’s departures and arrivals from the electronic databases of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

The “South of Ukraine 1” Charitable Foundation was registered in Odesa in June 2023. According to the investigation, the organization’s director, along with accomplices, exploited his status as a volunteer to import cars from abroad under the guise of providing aid to the military, but with the intent of reselling them. Subsequently, the foundation imported a Nissan Qashqai+2 and a Mercedes-Benz Vito, which were donated by Finnish citizens.

In late October 2026, the suspect was detained in Kherson while handing over these vehicles to a buyer for $9,500.

During subsequent searches at the residence of one of the witnesses, two foreign passports issued in another person’s name were seized. Prosecutors attempted to seize the documents as physical evidence of border-crossing stamps.

Юлія Калабайда