Upon motion of the SBI, the court seized cargo of methyl alcohol from russia

Employees of the SBI found a railway tank car filled with "methyl alcohol" in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is owned by a russian entity.

The SBI is verifying the possible involvement of officials of the post «Tsentralnyi» of Zaporizhzhia Customs Office of State Customs Service of Ukraine in the illegal import of fuel and lubricants from an aggressor state.

The possibility that the customs officers acted for the benefit of unidentified Ukrainian commercial structures is being verified in the framework of the criminal proceedings.

It has been revealed that a russian company transported by rail 65 tonnes of antiknock additives for car petrol to Ukraine. Instead, methyl alcohol, an excisable product, was imported into our country. The budget did not receive any fixed payments.

A court has seized a tank car containing the product to date. At the initiative of the SBI, the cargo, with an estimated value of UAH 2.5 million, was seized in the interests of state security and will be transferred to the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets derived from corruption and other crimes.

The pre-trial investigation is underway into Part 1 of Article 204 (Illegal manufacturing, storage, sale or transportation for sale of excisable goods) and Part 2 of Article 364 (Abuse of authority or office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for up to 6 years.

Procedural guidance for a pre-trial investigation into this criminal proceeding is provided by the Zaporizhzhia Region Prosecutor’s Office.