Kyiv Customs has long been a hotbed of systemic corruption that thrives even in wartime. At the center of multimillion-dollar schemes is the head of one of the customs departments, Mykhailo Redko. Formally, he is supposed to fight violations, but in reality he coordinates corruption schemes with the support of the customs management and under the cover of Serhiy Korin, the director of the Kyiv Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation, who is his godfather.
Among the most common schemes is undervaluing the customs value of goods: goods are imported through shell companies at fictitiously low prices, which leads to millions in budget losses. Fictitious declaration is also widely used, when false data is provided about the quantity, weight, or name of goods, sometimes through one-day companies.
Another common practice is the substitution of UKT FEA codes, for example, electronics are declared as components to avoid paying taxes. There is also a scheme of "interrupted transit", when goods declared as transit actually remain in Ukraine without customs clearance. No less egregious is the practice of "destruction" of counterfeit equipment, in particular Apple products, which are formally disposed of, but in fact are resold.
Control over such violations is formal and virtually non-existent. The lack of reaction from Mykhailo Redko, the head of Kyiv Customs Silyuk, and the acting head of the State Customs Service Zvyagintsev indicates a conspiracy. The influence of Serhiy Korin from the State Bureau of Investigation blocks an effective investigation.
At the same time, Mykhailo Redko demonstrates wealth that clearly does not correspond to official income: a 142 m² apartment in Kyiv, luxury housing in Pechersk, Lexus and BMW X5 cars, cash worth millions of hryvnias — all of this is either undeclared or registered in the names of relatives and subordinates. Official declarations contrast sharply with the real state of affairs.
The result was that customs, instead of serving the state interests, turned into a source of enrichment for the chosen ones. A real investigation is possible only if all those involved in the schemes are completely removed and independent investigative bodies intervene. Otherwise, the state will continue to lose millions, and the corrupt will enrich themselves.
