A large-scale scheme for the import and sale of electronics is gaining traction in Ukraine, which, according to law enforcement sources, may involve major market participants — the Comfy network, the ASBIS-Ukraine company, and a number of affiliated online stores and sole proprietors specializing in the sale of Apple equipment and popular electronics. It is a complex system of tax evasion, smuggling, and the use of cryptocurrencies for payments.
According to sources, the coordinators of the scheme are Igor Khyzhnyak, Svitlana Hutsul and Kyrylo Pakhomov, who allegedly control a chain of companies - from official distributors to "gray" online stores. Among the companies involved in the group's activities are LLC "ASBIS-Ukraine", LLC "Comfi Trade", as well as the brands "iPeople", "iStore", "Techno Yizhak" and dozens of small sole proprietors.
According to the interlocutors, the main part of the scheme consists of importing equipment through the "green corridor" on the border with Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, often without declaring or with a significant understatement of value. This allows avoiding payment of customs duties and VAT, creating unequal conditions on the market and causing losses to the state budget.
After crossing the border, the goods are distributed among chain stores and affiliated online platforms, where they are sold as “official products,” although they do not always have certificates of conformity. According to sources, some payments are made in cash, to individual bank cards, or in the USDT cryptocurrency, which complicates financial monitoring and may indicate income concealment.
Particular attention is drawn to the possible connections of individual participants in the scheme with Russia. In particular, according to operational data, ASBIS-Ukraine, which is the official distributor of Apple, may be involved in the supply of equipment to the Russian Federation through third countries. There is also information that one of the co-owners of Comfy, Svitlana Hutsul, has Cypriot and Ukrainian citizenship and previously re-registered a business in temporarily occupied Donetsk under Russian law, paying taxes in favor of the aggressor country.
The revealed schemes concern not only imports, but also the internal organization of labor. According to sources, up to 90% of Comfy's staff are registered as individual entrepreneurs with a minimum salary of about UAH 1,500, while the main payments are allegedly made "in envelopes". This allows them to avoid paying the social security contribution and personal income tax.
While official authorities have not made public statements regarding the investigation of this network, the market is awaiting inspections and possible criminal proceedings. The scale of shadow flows, according to experts, can be estimated at hundreds of millions of hryvnias per month, which threatens not only competition in the technology market, but also the country's budget.
