An underground operation producing branded sweets has been uncovered in western Ukraine
25 March 19:06
In the Lviv region, detectives from the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine shut down an underground confectionery production facility where products were manufactured and packaged using the trademarks of a well-known brand without authorization, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Law enforcement officials have already completed the pre-trial investigation and submitted the indictment to the court.
How the scheme worked
According to the investigation, the production organizer was not registered as a business owner but had set up the manufacturing and packaging of wafers using someone else’s trademarks.
The trademark owner is a Ukrainian confectionery factory that is part of an international corporation.
To carry out the scheme, the suspect:
- purchased packaging equipment;
- purchased packaging materials with branded labels;
- hired other people who, according to the investigation, were unaware of the illegality of the activity.
Where the products were manufactured
According to the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, production was organized in a warehouse located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
There, they manufactured and packaged products that were later intended to be sold on the market as branded goods.
What was seized during the searches
During the investigative operations, detectives seized:
- packaging equipment;
- packaging materials bearing trademarks;
- over 38,000 units of finished products.
According to law enforcement estimates, the financial damage to the rights holder exceeds 550,000 hryvnias.
What’s next
The pre-trial investigation has already been completed, and the indictment has been sent to court.
Investigators believe that the organizer of the illegal production violated intellectual property rights and caused losses to the trademark owner.
Earlier, law enforcement officials reported the exposure in Kyiv of an interregional group that organized the illegal production and sale of counterfeit alcoholic beverages.
