Bail was posted for the former head of the State Border Service in a cigarette smuggling case

A bail of 10 million hryvnias has been set for the former head of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhiy Deineka, who is suspected of involvement in tobacco smuggling. This was reported by the press service of the High Anti-Corruption Court in a comment to Ukrayinska Pravda.

According to the court, the funds were deposited on 2 February by another person. At the same time, bail in the amount of 2 million hryvnias has not yet been paid for the second suspect in this case, the head of the State Border Service checkpoint department, Oleksandr Marushchak.

As previously reported, on 22 January, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and prosecutors from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office conducted searches at Serhiy Deineko's home. Later, anti-corruption authorities announced that they had uncovered a scheme of systematic bribery among top officials of the State Border Service.

According to the investigation, in 2023, with the assistance of officials from the agency, a group of individuals organised the illegal transportation of consignments of cigarettes across the state border of Ukraine to European Union countries. On 30 January, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on Serhiy Deineka in the form of a bail of 10 million hryvnias. Prosecutors insisted on bail of 16 million hryvnias.

In addition to setting bail, both suspects have been assigned procedural obligations. The pre-trial investigation into the case is ongoing.