Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Kirovohrad Regional Prosecutor's Office, a fact of unlawful benefit received by an official of the Kropyvnytskyi Customs of the State Customs Service has been uncovered.

The investigation established that the customs official demanded money for facilitating the issuance of the EUR.1 certificate.

The EUR.1 certificate is a document that confirms the origin of goods and gives enterprises the right to export products to European Union countries with reduced or zero customs duties. Without it, businesses lose customs benefits or are forced to incur additional financial costs.

As law enforcement officials found out, the deputy head of the customs payment control and administration department — the head of the goods classification control, customs payments, and benefits application control department demanded an unlawful benefit from a representative of the enterprise. 

In exchange for money, he promised to ensure the unobstructed receipt of the certificate, effectively substituting the legal procedure with personal agreements.

During the receipt of the second part of the unlawful benefit, the official was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. 

The total amount of money received was 1,200 US dollars. During a search of the vehicle, cash received as an unlawful benefit was seized.

The actions of the official have been qualified under part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the State Bureau of Investigations with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kirovohrad region.