The head of Ivano-Frankivsk customs of the State Customs Service has been notified of suspicion. The official is involved in organizing a scheme of extorting money from exporters of domestic products to the EU states.

The official’s so-called external adviser also received notice of suspicion. According to the investigation, this individual was an intermediary responsible for handover of illicit benefits.

The notification of suspicion was the next step in the proceedings on systematic extortion of money from Ukrainian enterprises exporting their products to the EU.

Earlier, the SSU carried out an operation to dismantle a criminal group, which included customs officials.

For various sums of money, they promised entrepreneurs not to create artificial barriers during customs clearance of goods.

Currently, the official and his accomplice are suspected of committing the crime under Article 368.3 of the CCU (bribery). The punishment can be up to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The court is to decide on the measure of restraint.

The pre-trial investigation is underway to establish all the circumstances of the illegal activity and bring to justice others involved.

The SSU jointly with the SBI and the Internal Security Department of the State Customs Service carried out the operation and documented the offence under the supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Under Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until proven guilty and until the relevant court’s verdict.