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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
🚨 Under the guise of humanitarian aid: in the Lviv region a court punished a foundation director for smuggling spare parts
The court issued a ruling in a case regarding an attempt to illegally move commercial goods across the border under the guise of humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces.
This was reported by the Telegram channel "Sudom po skhemakh" with reference to case No. 461/7805/26 (decision date — 05 November 2026).
📦 Essence of the case and the “humanitarian” scheme
In July 2026, an attempt was made to bring a vehicle and a large consignment of auto parts (including engines, alternators, starters, and gearboxes) into Ukraine through the Shehyni–Medyka checkpoint, with a total value of over 900 thousand hryvnias.
• 📝 The director of the Charitable Foundation “GORHOSHI,” Chuhay Oleg Mykolayovych, declared the cargo as humanitarian aid, naming a specific serviceman of a military unit as the intended recipient.
• 🛑 An inspection showed that the serviceman and the unit had submitted no requests or statements to the foundation, and documents authorizing export of the cargo from the EU as humanitarian aid were absent.
• ⚖️ In fact, commercial goods were being transported under the guise of charity, which is a violation of customs rules.
🏛️ Court decision
The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv found Chuhay Oleg Mykolayovych guilty under part 1 of article 483 of the Customs Code of Ukraine (moving goods across the customs border by concealing them from customs control by submitting false information).
The court ordered:
• 💰 To impose a fine in the amount of 50% of the value of the goods, which amounts to 451 158 hryvnias 61 kopiyka.
• 🚛 To confiscate, for the benefit of the state, the seized items of the offense and the Mercedes‑Benz Sprinter minibus.
• 📦 To recover from the offender 133 452 hryvnias 14 kopiykas for costs of storing the goods at the customs warehouse and the court fee.
💡 Advice from the Telegram channel “Sudom po skhemakh”
• Document every step: Charitable foundations and volunteers should carefully verify that all official requests from Defense Forces units are in place before processing any consignments.
• No fictitious recipients: Using servicemembers’ details without their knowledge and without official approval from their command is inevitably uncovered during customs control and entails severe administrative or criminal liability.
• Customs integrity: Declaring commercial consignments of goods as humanitarian aid is classified as smuggling with all its consequences: confiscation of property and huge fines.
Telegram publication
