SSU exposes corruption schemes in the Tax Service and three regional customs offices of Ukraine

The Security Service (SSU) has exposed corruption involving an official from the State Tax Service in the Odessa region and has also dismantled new corruption schemes at the Odessa, Lviv, and Zhytomyr customs offices. This information was reported by the SSU press service.

As a result of operational measures, four customs officials have been apprehended, and an official from the tax service has been informed of the suspicion against her.

It was discovered that the head of one of the units of the Southern Division of the State Tax Service demanded a bribe of $5,000 from a local entrepreneur. In return, she promised to restore his economic activity, even in the face of risks in the reporting documentation.

Based on the materials collected by the SSU, she has been charged with Article 369-2, Part 2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, which pertains to abuse of influence.

Furthermore, the SSU has detained customs officials who, through bribery, "assisted" businessmen in importing their goods under an "accelerated procedure" and evading mandatory import duties.

In Odessa, the deputy head of the local department of the State Customs Service was arrested for "underestimating" the customs value of widely used foreign products. Every month, the official processed nearly 100 cargo containers through the scheme, each of which was "valued" at $500.