High-ranking officials of the State Tax Inspectorate at the regional level in several regions of Ukraine were exposed as a cover for a large-scale illegal business selling illegal cigarettes.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the activities of the “business” were established by the suspects from the second half of 2022.. Organizers from Odessa led the scheme for the sale of illegal tobacco. The most active network worked in Odessa and Vinnitsa regions. In particular, only in the Vinnytsia region there were 27 points for the sale of counterfeit products with a falsified label " The amount from the sale of cigarettes in only one region amounted to tens of millions of hryvnias monthly.

During the investigation of the case, law enforcement officers conducted about fifty searches in Vinnitsa and Odessa regions - at points of sale, the office of the organizers, at the place of residence of persons involved in the illegal scheme, as well as at the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Vinnitsa region.

More than 100,000 were seized during searches.. cigarette packs with a total value of more than UAH 5 million and almost UAH 1.5 million in cash, records with “black bookkeeping” and documentation of alleged tax audits.

In case of suspicion of illegal sale, they informed the " In parallel, an investigation is ongoing regarding the leadership of the tax authorities on the fact of abuse of power or official position, which led to grave consequences.. Law enforcement officers establish the identity of the organizers of the scheme and the performers on the ground.

As noted in the State Bureau of Investigation, tax officials in several areas may face up to 6 years in prison.

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It should be noted that the Verkhovna Rada has filed for registration a draft law on restarting the State Tax Service, which provides for a complete recertification of employees.