Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Office have declared a suspect in the former deputy head of the Kyiv Customs Service. According to investigators, he invested more than $2 million in cash, illegally obtained, in the construction of a restaurant and hotel complex in Bukovel. The man faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
This was reported on the website of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
According to the post, the suspect illegally accumulated money while serving at the customs. In 2020-2021, he invested more than two million dollars in cash in the construction of a restaurant and hotel complex in the Bukovel region in the village of Polyanytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
“After the construction was completed, the suspect used this asset and received profit from its activities. To hide this, the complex was registered in the name of a close relative,” the report says.
Investigators have charged a former customs official under Part 3 of Article 209 Article 209. Legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means, committed repeatedly or by prior conspiracy of a group of people, or on a large scale of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment from eight to twelve years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property.
The NABU adds: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot receive criminal punishment until his guilt is proven in court.