The guarantor bank paid, but the goods disappeared: Kyiv investigates new cigarette scam
21 October 16:57
Two tobacco business participants who misappropriated pledged goods worth UAH 128 million have been served with a notice of suspicion in Kyiv. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, under a contract with a Swiss cigarette manufacturer, the suspects received cigarettes with a two-week deferred payment, and a commercial bank acted as a guarantor of payments.
In 2024, the men received a batch of tobacco products that had the status of the bank’s pledged property, but did not pay for the supply. In this regard, the bank, as a guarantor of the transaction, paid the foreign supplier the full amount. After that, the batch of cigarettes worth over UAH 143 million disappeared.
The bank repaid part of its obligations at the expense of the company’s accounts, but had to pay more than UAH 128 million from its own resources.
Read also: Tobacco mafia: where illegal cigarettes are sold the most in Ukraine
The suspects have already been notified of being suspected under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation of property in a particularly large scale). The sanction of the article provides for up to 12 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv with the operational support of the Cybercrime Department of the National Police Cyber Police Department in Kyiv.
The investigation is ongoing.
Read us on Telegram: important topics – without censorship
