The ESBU has reduced the amount of damages in the case involving the Lviv-based fruit importer by two-thirds
The Economic Security Bureau could have helped entrepreneurs in Lviv reduce the amount of losses to the state by 36 million hryvnias, but refuses to explain the reasons for its actions. This is stated in a response to a request from ‘Ukrainian News’ and in documents from the court register.
Recently, the ESBU branch in the Lviv region posted information on its Facebook page about the recovery of 13 million hryvnias in taxes that an individual entrepreneur had failed to pay during the sale of coins. However, the post was accompanied by a photo of the search carried out at the premises of Yaroslava Fetsat, an entrepreneur and director of the limited liability company ‘Elit-Fruit’.
The allegations of illegal coin sales emerged in the case practically on the eve of the transfer of materials to the court with a motion for exemption from criminal liability. Meanwhile, for over a year, the ESBU had been investigating the evasion of 49 million hryvnias in taxes on the sale of fruit and vegetables.
According to the Unified Register of Court Decisions, the investigation in criminal proceedings No. 72025142500000018 concerned an individual entrepreneur who supplied fruit and vegetables to the local market.
Detectives believed that between 2022 and 2024, the woman had sold goods wholesale for cash through sole traders under her control, without recording these transactions in her accounts. Losses amounting to over 49 million hryvnias were confirmed by analysts at the Economic Security Bureau.
During searches at the businesswoman’s premises, investigators seized ‘off-the-books’ accounting records for the period in question, cash, and a collection of coins made of precious metals. Everything was seized. At one of the court hearings, the defendant, attempting to have the seizure overturned, claimed that the coins belonged to her son. However, the court sided with the investigation, partially granting the request.
‘The owner of the property, PERSON_4, partially objected to the application during the court hearing and requested that the seizure of the funds and collectible coins be refused. She explained that the seized funds were her personal property and savings accumulated over many years of entrepreneurial activity in the form of wholesale food trade at the market. She requests that it be taken into account that the seizure of all the seized funds may hinder the continuation of her business activities. She also noted that the seized coins belong to her son, who is the owner of the premises where the search took place. ‘Having heard the views of the parties to the proceedings and examined the materials of the application, I consider that this should be granted in part,’ the court ruling states.
Subsequently, a post appeared on the ESBU’s official Facebook page announcing the ‘successful conclusion’ of the investigation. However, the press release no longer mentioned the fruit and vegetable fraud causing 49 million in state losses, but only the alleged sale of collectible coins. The relevant decision was issued by the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv. The amount of losses was reduced from 49 to 13 million hryvnias.
And the main defendant, instead of the organiser of the scheme, turned out to be a completely different individual, who pleaded guilty, reimbursed 13 million and was released from criminal liability.
It is also interesting to note that the amount of seized funds mentioned in the ESBU`s post is 67 million hryvnias, whereas one of the rulings in the court register referred to 905,000 euros, 594,500 US dollars and 77,000 hryvnias.
It is worth noting separately that the sale of fruit and vegetables took place mainly at the food market in Sykhiv, which is managed by Rostyslav Matselyukh. It is from him that the acting head of the Lviv Regional Office of the Economic Security Bureau, Mykhailo Borusovskyi, currently rents accommodation, as stated in his declaration.
The Economic Security Bureau declined to comment on the situation, arguing that the requested information is not in the public domain.
The Economic Security Bureau also did not provide any answers as to exactly what money was seized during the search of the company director’s premises. Interestingly, according to data from public registers, the importing company was loss-making in 2025, and the year before that earned only 11,000 UAH. Meanwhile, sole trader Fetsat actively imports fruit from Turkey, Morocco and Colombia.
According to lawyers, such actions by the Economic Security Bureau’ detectives, depending on the circumstances, may constitute several offences at once: ranging from forgery in the course of duty to abuse of power.
The State Bureau of Investigations is responsible for providing a final legal assessment of this situation. This falls under their jurisdiction, should such actions indeed have taken place. After all, the classification of the offence is influenced by various circumstances that investigators must examine. The Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on the Investigation of Illegal Actions That Could Have Harmed Economic Security also deals with similar cases.
Following the appointment of Oleksandr Tsyvinsky as Director of the Economic Security Bureau (ESBU), the agency has become more responsive to potential misconduct by its staff; consequently, upon discovering such actions, the ESBU typically notifies other law enforcement and supervisory bodies independently.
However, if such actions did take place, the individual was effectively helped to launder a significant amount of cash, which was seized during searches.
As previously reported by ThePublic, Ukrainian MP Danylo Getmantsev stated that the heads of the ESBU and the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) must bear personal responsibility for the effectiveness of the agencies they lead. And, in the event of failure, they must resign from their posts.
