Detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) in the Lviv region exposed a powerful scheme for the production and sale of counterfeit alcohol. During searches in Lviv, more than 200,000 bottles of vodka with forged excise stamps worth more than 23 million hryvnias were seized.
The criminal group organized illegal trade in excise goods, selling counterfeit alcoholic beverages wholesale and retail, while all transactions were not reflected in accounting and tax records. This made it possible to avoid paying taxes, which caused significant damage to the state budget.
Law enforcement officers discovered a warehouse belonging to the owner of an alcohol factory, where counterfeit bottles of vodka of various brands and volumes were stored. All products were equipped with fake excise stamps, which violated the law.
Now investigators are establishing the involvement of officials of the licensed alcohol producer in this illegal business. Trademark owners who may be involved in the scheme have also come into focus.
The investigation is being conducted under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in particular for the illegal manufacture and sale of excise goods, as well as for large-scale tax evasion.
