Under the procedural guidance of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office, two officials from one of the customs posts of the Chernivtsi Customs of the State Customs Service of Ukraine have been notified of suspicion of abuse of power or office, which caused serious consequences (part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, the customs officers acted according to a previously developed scheme – they intentionally did not document the fact of the entry into Ukraine of a vehicle with foreign registration, which was illegally used to transport over 40 thousand electronic cigarettes. As a result, the state lost more than 700 thousand UAH.

At the same time, both individuals are already accused in another criminal proceeding. This concerns facilitating the importation into Ukraine of nearly 168 thousand electronic cigarettes without customs control. The court proceedings in this case are ongoing.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigations located in the city of Khmelnytskyi, with operational support from the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.