A large-scale scheme of illegal tobacco trafficking has been discovered on the Ukrainian market, at the center of which, according to the investigation, are several enterprises related to Marshall Finest Tobacco Ukraine LLC. Under the guise of legal production, the company has established a systematic production of unregistered cigarettes both under its own trademarks and in the form of counterfeits of well-known international brands.
Tobacco products were sold on the domestic market without proper fiscal accounting - using counterfeit excise stamps or without marking at all, and some of the goods were smuggled into the EU countries. According to sources, the scheme was facilitated by the assistance of individual tax and law enforcement officials, which allowed them to avoid inspections, withdraw income in cash, and partially finance illegal activities.
The legal address of Marshall Finest Tobacco Ukraine LLC is registered in the village of Ostriv, Ternopil district. The formal owners in the documents are companies registered in the Seychelles and the United Kingdom, and the ultimate beneficiary is a person with the initials Rybun M.P. At the same time, according to the investigation materials, the real management is associated with businessman Dmytro Chumachenko, who is called a partner of People's Deputy Ivan Chaykivsky.
Examination of the packaging revealed the presence of copies of excise stamps with falsified markings, and official reports on the stamps used did not match the actual volumes of products, which indicates a possible evasion of excise duty. According to sources, the movement of goods went through a network of related legal entities with further distribution in the retail network and through MAFs without issuing fiscal checks, and part of the proceeds were transferred to cash. The history of production indicates long-term practices of circumventing control, which raises suspicions of systematic violations.
