SBU blocked large-scale sale of counterfeit alcohol in the JFO area. The goods were illegally produced in local distilleries.

Allegedly, the illegal scheme was set up by managers of a Donetsk distributing company and several distilleries from different Ukrainian regions. It was established that the suspects produced unaccounted alcohol for further sale with forged excise stickers and without paying taxes. Presumably, the criminal group sold counterfeit alcohol worth UAH 80 million (USD 3 million) per month.

The law enforcement carried out searches of the licensed wholesale warehouses of the distributing company in Mariupol and Kramatorsk cities, as well as a retail network in Sloviansk city. As a result, 30,000 bottles of counterfeit alcohol worth almost UAH 3 million (USD 110,000) were seized.

The criminal proceedings are initiated upon the fact of making, storage, transportation, mailing, or bringing into Ukraine for selling purposes, or sale of counterfeit money, government securities or state lottery tickets (P. 1 Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and marketing or sale of products of poor quality (Art. 227 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation is ongoing.

The operation was conducted jointly with the State Fiscal Service and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine under the supervision of the regional Prosecutor’s Office.

To remind, at the beginning of the week the SBU seized 35,000 liters of counterfeit alcohol in different bottles and Tetra Paks in the JFO area. The seized goods were without any excise labels or with the forged ones, the total value of goods amounted to UAH 6 million (USD 220,000).