Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities said they have uncovered a large-scale bribery scheme involving senior officials of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who allegedly took systematic bribes to facilitate illegal cross-border trafficking into the European Union.
In a statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), under the procedural supervision of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), said detectives have served notices of suspicion to a former top official and a current officer of the Border Guard Service.
Among those named is Lt. Gen. Serhii Deineko, the former head of the State Border Guard Service, as well as the former head of a border checkpoint department and a former border guard official, authorities said.
According to investigators, the suspects are accused of organizing and facilitating a scheme in 2023 that allowed groups to smuggle cigarettes from Ukraine into the EU in exchange for bribes. The suspects’ actions have been classified under articles related to aiding bribery and accepting undue benefits on a particularly large scale.
NABU said the smugglers used vehicles registered in the Czech Republic and Austria, which were fitted with special license plates resembling diplomatic ones. The cars were driven by holders of diplomatic passports – family members of Ukrainian diplomats stationed in Europe – allowing the vehicles to avoid inspection by Ukrainian and EU border and customs authorities.
Border Guard officials allegedly ensured the unhindered crossing of these vehicles in and out of Ukraine. Investigators documented that between July and November 2023, the officials received about €204,000 ($239,000) in bribes for allowing 68 vehicles to cross the border, at a rate of roughly €3,000 ($3,517) per car.
The investigation also found that some of the border guard officials had previously served alongside diplomats whose relatives later became participants in the scheme.
Pre-trial investigations are ongoing, and authorities say they are continuing to establish all circumstances of the case and identify additional individuals who may have been involved.
The border bribery case is the latest in a series of anti-corruption actions targeting financial misconduct in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies announced that they had uncovered a scheme to siphon public funds from the country’s renewable energy “green” tariff in Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Region).
In a statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said nine people have been named as suspects, including a former deputy head of the Office of the President, a former member of the supervisory board of Naftogaz, executives of energy companies, and a former commercial director of Zaporizhzhiaoblenergo, the energy supplier managing power distribution for the Zaporizhzhia Region.
Ukrainian media reports identify one senior official as Rostyslav Shurma, who served as a deputy head of the Presidential office until September 2024 and was dismissed from Naftogaz’s supervisory board in December.