The SBU exposed and blocked illegal activity of an interregional criminal group. Its members forged and sold various official documents.

The SBU operatives established that the group included two residents of Kyiv region who forged the documents. Two former officers of the migration service from Zhytomyr region worked with “clients”.

In order to forge documents, the dealers set up two workshops in private residences in small villages of Kyiv region. In particular, they made passports, driver's and service licenses, certificates of participation in hostilities, university degrees, technical passports and acts of land ownership.

Allegedly, the cost of the documents depended on its type. The maximum price for a “full set” was USD 10,000. The passport of a citizen of Ukraine cost USD 1,500, ID-card was twice as expensive.

SBU operatives documented a number of sales by the offenders.

They had been working for a year. Every month, they “served” up to fifty clients and foreigners as well.

As a result of a special operation in Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions, the SBU officers detained four members of the group and stopped the work of two illegal workshops.

During five searches at the offenders’ residences and in the workshops, law enforcement seized 30 ready-made documents, including Ukrainian passports and almost 700 forms for making new counterfeits. The investigation also revealed security holograms, forged stamps and seals of Ukrainian government institutions, computer equipment and flash drives with samples of the documents, information about “clients”, and equipment for forging the documents. The seized evidence was sent for forensic examination.

The investigation is ongoing upon the facts of preparation of crime; fraud; making, buying, storage and transportation of holography-based security elements; forgery of documents, stamps, seals or letterheads, and sale or use of forged documents; participation in criminal offense and giving a bribe.

The operation was conducted by the SBU Office in Zhytomyr region jointly with the SBU Main Directorate for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime, and Investigative Department of the Main National Police Directorate under the legal supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Zhytomyr Region.