The Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court approved the plea agreement of Vitaliy Chmel, the former chief state inspector of operational department No. 4 of the Department for Combating Smuggling and Violations of Customs Rules of Odessa Customs.
The man was found guilty of receiving unlawful benefit (Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and receiving benefit for influencing officials (Part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, Chmel offered drivers of Mercedes Sprinter minibuses that transported passengers from Moldova to Ukraine a "simplified" registration:
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for $100–300 — unhindered customs clearance of hand luggage and baggage, acceleration of the procedure, avoidance of "artificial obstacles";
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an additional $50–150 — influence on border guards to speed up border control and avoid delays.
Recorded episodes:
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December 2022 — Chmel provided his phone number for coordination;
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January 11, 2023 — promised to process the application by the morning of January 12 for $200 + $50 for influencing border guards;
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January 12, 2023 — received $250 (200 — for customs, 50 — for border guards);
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January 19, 2023 — received $450 (300 — for customs, 150 — for border guards) during the clearance of three minibuses.
The total amount of the ill-gotten gain was $700. On June 22, 2023, a plea agreement was concluded between Chmel, the prosecutor of the Odessa Regional Prosecutor's Office, and the defense attorney under Articles 468–476 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The defendant fully admitted his guilt, sincerely repented, and actively contributed to the discovery of the crimes, confirming the circumstances during interrogation.
No other participants in the scheme have been identified. At the time of the crime, Chmel was a group 2 disabled person, married, had two minor children, and had not previously been held criminally liable.
