In Nine Months, They Exposed Schemes That Drain Millions from the Country In the dusty corridors of Bukovinian customs offices, work is boiling that no one envies: in the first nine months of 2025, units of the Chernivtsi Customs initiated 603 cases of violations, with the total damage exceeding 568 million hryvnia. This isn’t isolated greed but a whole network of loopholes through which goods, money, and even cars leak out, leaving the state with empty pockets.
In 175 cases, evidence worth 124.9 million hryvnia was confiscated: from industrial goods at 9.3 million to foodstuffs for 5.9 million, alcohol for 5.1 million, cars for a whopping 89.9 million, and currency for 12 million. In 83 cases, fines totaling 6.4 million hryvnia were issued, collecting over 8.5 million for the budget—including old debts. 289 cases reached court for 468.2 million, and courts have already handed down sentences for 68 million.
Such scams multiply like weeds in an abandoned garden because the system is cracking at the seams, and the border is like a sieve for those who know where to slip a bribe. In neighboring regions, where customs works like clockwork without shadowy schemes and endless checks, no one risks such ventures: everything is transparent, goods flow legally, and people don’t waste nerves on bureaucracy.
