Prosecutors of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported suspicion against a 33-year-old resident of Lviv who organized an illegal scheme for the import and resale of vehicles intended for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, throughout 2024, the man established a system for importing vehicles from Poland. To avoid paying customs duties, the documents stated that the cars were intended for the Armed Forces. To move the cars across the border, he involved relatives and acquaintances who were unaware of his criminal intentions.

The suspect used the details of charitable organizations and convinced their leaders that the vehicles would be handed over to the military. Instead, he sold the cars to third parties who had no relation to defense needs.

The import of 19 such vehicles with a total value of over 2 million UAH has been documented. Part of the illegally obtained funds was legalized by the Lviv resident, who purchased two cars for personal use.

During the investigative actions, law enforcement seized 12 vehicles.

The man has been notified of suspicion of smuggling excise goods and legalization (money laundering) of property obtained by criminal means (Part 1 of Article 201-4, Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Lviv region. Operational support was provided by employees of the Main Center for Operational Documentation and Operational and Technical Measures of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and officers of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.