Customs Officers Identified in Phantom Drone Money-Outflow Scheme

According to insiders, phantom drone imports allow businesses to siphon money abroad or smuggle goods disguised as drones — a category exempted from duties and VAT by the government. 

At Volyn customs, officers Volodymyr Andriiovych Makar, Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Sukhyi, Andrii Ivanovych Shkaran, Nataliia Mykolaivna Savosh, and Oleksandr Valeriiovych Volin cleared over $100 million worth of non-existent drones. The shipments came from WHARVEST LIMITED, STARNINE SALES LIMITED, Latuna Limited, TS2 Space Sp. z o.o., ABSales Group Limited, OPTIMA TRADE LIMITED, Accumaze Sp. z o.o., and TORQUE TRADE LIMITED, and were routed to “Senfidjo Ind” 45242023, “Poliprom Kontur” 44972273, “Loyalhilz Group” 45339667, “L & T Kompani” 45611914, “Pepper Star” 44610024, “Vital Progres” 45214462, “ITG Intek-Gaz” 21494259, and “Lavra Grup” 45023845. 

At Lviv customs, officers Yurii Andriiovych Popov, Olha Stepanivna Romaniv, and Taras Romanovych Leschyshyn approved fake declarations worth more than $100 million from BORBIT EU S.R.L., Universum-Baltyckie Centrum Logisticzne Sp. z o.o., M.D. and Partners Sp. z o.o., and E-TRADE GROUP Sp. z o.o. The recipients included “Bullet” 45169719, “Export Master” 45302019, “Kalheon” 40265219, “Promoflai” 45435182, “EkoMaska” 45855410, “Optomaks” 45479481, and “Tekhnogen” 45589423. 

At Odesa customs, officers Roman Andriiovych Haidarzhi and Oleh Viacheslavovych Hlaholiev signed off on more than $50 million in phantom imports. They listed shipments from OPTIMA TRADE LIMITED, ABSales Group Limited, WHARVEST LIMITED, TAKSIM-POL Sp. z o.o., and TORQUE TRADE LIMITED to “Vital Progres” 45214462, “Pepper Star” 44610024, “Senfidjo Ind” 45242023, “Tedarik” 45907725, and “Transhlobus” 44548370. 

At Chernivtsi customs, officers Illia Vasylovych Tkachuk and Vitalii Oleksandrovych Lakhman pushed through another $20 million. They processed declarations from TORQUE TRADE LIMITED, Latuna Limited, and NEOTRADE LIMITED in the names of “Pepper Star” 44610024, “Lavra Grup” 45023845, “Loyalhilz Group” 45339667, and “Neksus Torg” 45351930. 

At Zakarpattia customs, Dmytro Serhiiovych Honcharuk and Yuliia Volodymyrivna Lazarchyk cleared more than $15 million from EUA Invest Group s.r.o., EUAIG s.r.o., and KAMELOT Sp. z o.o. for “Moti” 38628992 and “Greit Enterpraiz” 4523194. 

At Kyiv customs, officer Andrii Ihorovych Bielov allowed tens of millions of dollars in fake imports from BFM ENTERPRISES LLC, COSENBASE LTD, Jet DP Sp. z o.o., EURO LINE Sp. z o.o., and LEMIURG LLC. The shipments were declared to “Tem-Ro” 45721498, “Anver Torg” 45703947, “Eksport Master” 45302019, “Tekhnoprof” 42855563, “Yevro Standart Grupp” 41140319, “Seilkomtreid” 45512853, and “Bilding Stars” 45395339. And this list is not complete. 

The schemes operated under the protection of top officials: Andrii Kuznik (head of Lviv customs), Yurii Herasymov (Chernivtsi), Illia Nizhnikov (Zakarpattia), and Dmytro Stasenko (Volyn). These same managers also cover Apple contraband regularly brought into Ukraine on buses from Europe. 

In Odesa, customs chief Andrii Koliver runs an additional scheme: reclassifying imports under false codes, using “cover” product categories, or simply lowering the declared weight and value. 

Every year, contraband worth about $10.8 billion enters Ukraine. The losses to the state budget reach $3.3 billion. Phantom drones are now part of this shadow economy.

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