During a multi-stage special operation, SBU CI exposed a large-scale illicit legalization of CIS citizens, including Russians, residents of separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the so-called Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, as well as some countries with increased terrorist threat. It was planned to traffic them to the EU.

Allegedly, the State Migration Service personnel and other supervisory bodies, representatives of local self-government bodies and their accomplices in Chernivtsi and Vinnytsia regions, as well as in the Republic of Moldova, were involved in illegal activities.

SBU operatives established that the scheme had two courses of events. According to the first one, foreigners provided offenders with copies of their documents. On its basis, the attackers made fake duplicates of Moldovan passports for the “customers” under the pretext of losing their passports in the Republic of Moldova. Additionally, they entered false data about the alleged birth of the individuals in Ukraine. Further, the organizers handed over duplicates to “their” employees of Ukrainian administrative service center, who registered foreigners in one of the Ukrainian cities and provided them with Ukrainian passports. The cost of the “service” ranged from EUR 3,000 to 5,000 and lasted for 2-4 months.

The second way to legalize foreigners was to issue Ukrainian foreign passports. The offenders used forged old-style passports, in which a real photo of a foreigner was pasted in a passport of another person.

At the beginning of the special operation, law enforcement officers conducted 26 searches in the State Migration Service and customs authorities in Chernivtsi region and the Republic of Moldova. During searches at accomplices’ officers and residence, SBU officers seized almost 150 forged passports. As a result, 50 individuals were abolished Ukrainian citizenship.

Lately, the SBU conducted six searches simultaneously, including in the State Migration Service units in Vinnytsia city. During the searches, law enforcement found additional documents proving the involvement in illegal activities. Moreover, previously produced forged documents, lists of foreigners illegally registered in Ukraine and transported to the EU were also confiscated by law enforcement officers.

Within the initiated criminal proceedings upon the fact of illegal transfer of persons across the Ukrainian state border investigative actions are ongoing to bring to justice all persons invovled in the crime.

The operation was carried out jointly with the Main Department of the National Police in Chernivtsi region under the procedural guidance of the Regional Prosecutor's Office.