The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB) is investigating a large-scale corruption scheme for the illegal export of agricultural products, organized with the participation of a former official of the State Fiscal Service, Serhiy Oleksandrovych Nedorenko. According to the investigation, the scheme operated throughout 2024 and allowed the export of agricultural products worth over a billion hryvnias abroad without paying taxes.
Nedorenko, who previously headed the Department of Counteracting Customs Offenses and International Cooperation of the State Fiscal Service, created or acquired a number of fictitious enterprises after his dismissal from the regulatory body. They became the basis for a well-established mechanism for exporting products purchased for cash using Form No. 2, a scheme that has long been used to circumvent tax control.
To ensure unhindered customs clearance, the “fictitious” exporters used the territory of the Chernivtsi customs. It was there, according to the investigation, that the corruption connection between Nedorenko and his former subordinate, Yevstafiy Volodymyrovych Maitapov, was organized. Maitapov, who currently holds the position of deputy head of the Chernivtsi customs, was subordinate to Nedorenko as the chief state inspector in 2018–2021.
The investigation also established that individual lawyers and current customs officials were involved in the criminal scheme, who ensured the legalization of exports and the avoidance of any inspections. All actions were carried out with the aim of exporting agricultural products without paying taxes, which caused losses to the state budget in the amount of over 1.06 billion hryvnias.
The BEB emphasizes that the investigation is ongoing, and procedural steps are currently being prepared to bring the guilty parties to justice.
