Refrigerant smuggled into Ukraine as humanitarian aid
7th December 2023
UKRAINE: Authorities in Ukraine have seized a large shipment of refrigerant being brought into the country and mis-declared as humanitarian aid to evade customs duties.
Detectives of the Territorial Department of the Economic Security Bureau in Kyiv region in cooperation with border guards and customs officers, exposed the illegal importation of the refrigerant said to be worth around €354,000.
The investigation identified a group of people who had used the details of a charitable organisation to import the gas declared as humanitarian aid to evade paying customs duties.
The pre-trial investigation revealed that the director of the unnamed charitable organisation had previously been prosecuted for the illegal use of humanitarian aid for profit.
The economic crime agency did not identify the refrigerant(s) involved but one of the cylinders in photos of the seizure is marked R125.
