An underground cigarette factory generating billions in revenue has been uncovered in Chernivtsi
Detectives from the Main Detective Division of the Economic Security Bureau, in collaboration with the Territorial Directorate in Kyiv, have uncovered and shut down the operations of a group of individuals who had organised the illegal production of cigarettes on an industrial scale.
The factory was operating in the Chernivtsi region. Production was carried out on two lines, each of which produced around 5,000 cigarettes per minute. The daily output reached up to 720,000 packets, and the monthly illegal income exceeded 1 billion hryvnias.
According to the investigation, this is the largest underground cigarette production operation uncovered by the Economic Security Bureau since it began its work.
It has been established that the group comprised around 40 people. They manufactured filter cigarettes under the guise of well-known international brands.
Production was organised in a warehouse in the city of Chernivtsi, where industrial equipment was installed and a complete production cycle was established.
To ensure continuous operation, the premises were equipped, in particular, with industrial generators. Accommodation facilities were also provided for the workers, enabling the operation to run around the clock.
During the searches, detectives seized two full-cycle production lines, 750,000 packets of cigarettes of various brands, 149 boxes of fermented tobacco, packaging materials, rolls of cigarette paper, filter tips and printed materials bearing the logos of well-known international tobacco brands.
The estimated value of the seized equipment, products and property amounts to over 200 million hryvnias.
The criminal proceedings are being investigated under Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine concerning the illegal manufacture, storage, sale or transport of excise goods.
The proceedings are being supervised by prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General.
As previously reported by The Public, Danylo Getmantsev, Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is dissatisfied with the pace of the fight against the shadow economy. According to him, the state budget is projected to fall short by more than 30 billion hryvnias in 2025, and the reserve allocated for combating the shadow economy has either not been used or has been used only partially. In addition, due to the low effectiveness of the ESBU, the illegal tobacco market in Ukraine has grown to 18%.
