SBU blocked a criminal group, specializing in trafficking in persons across the Ukrainian border and further legalization of their stay, as well as issuing exit permits for minors. The criminal group included a notary from Kyiv City notarial district.

SBU established that the group members “helped” foreigners to illegally cross the Ukrainian border. They issued for their “clients” forged documents: visas, passports and residence permits. The suspects also had “services” for Ukrainian citizens: the criminal group was forging notarized exit permits for minors, unauthorized by one of the parents. The fee for the “service” amounted to EUR 150-200.

The suspects were detained after the fact of making and selling another forged notarized exit permit for a minor.

During the searches of suspects’ residences and offices, the law enforcement seized forged accountable documents, stamps, seals, blank forms of foreign visas, forged parent authorizations, photocopies of passport pages with obvious signs of forgery, foreign passport blanks, as well as 3-D printer for forging stamps and seals of state bodies and cash, obtained through the illegal activity. 

The detainees, including the private notary, were served notices of suspicion of illegal movement of persons across the state border of Ukraine, committed by a group of persons (P. 3 Art. 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation is ongoing.

The operation was conducted by the employees of the SBU Main Directorate for Fighting Corruption and Organized Crime jointly with the National Police investigators, under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv region.