A breakthrough in the fight against these schemes will come when the Security Service of Ukraine stops taking part in them and pretending to do its job, says an MP
The MP made this statement in an interview with the publication "Speka".
In particular, when asked when there would be a breakthrough in the fight against the shadow economy, Danylo Getmantsev noted: “There will be a breakthrough on one condition – when the Economic Security Bureau stops participating in these schemes and pretending to do its job.”
According to him, all tobacco manufacturers and gadget importers are well known, yet for some reason the EBB “does not see” them. As a result, the shadow tobacco market drains 26–27 billion hryvnias from the budget annually through the trade of untaxed goods in large retail chains.
"They’re currently adopting a ‘Mykhailo Fedorov-style’ approach: a polished presentation, a speech, a well-lit stage, but in reality – nothing but hot air and zero results. They come up with outlandish ideas that businesses should ‘negotiate’ the amount of tax to be paid when they’ve been caught evading it," the MP believes.
At the same time, he stresses that he has no information regarding bribery at the senior management level of the Bureau.
“This is utter helplessness. I have no information, and I will not claim that the Bureau’s senior management is taking money for this. But for the state, it doesn’t matter whether the head is incompetent or ‘in the know’. The result is the same – he must be sacked,” concluded Danylo Getmantsev.
As previously reported by ThePublic, despite the growth of the shadow gambling market, the Bureau of Economic Security has significantly reduced the pace of its efforts to combat the illegal gambling market. Between January and April 2026, detectives referred only four indictments to court regarding the unlawful organisation of casinos or the conduct of gambling. Meanwhile, according to Kantar, the volume of this shadow market exceeded 61.6 billion hryvnias.
