Florinskyi Oleksandr Stanislavovych

200 dollars for each certificate — customs officer's subscription fee

Deputy Head of the Customs Payments Department of the Kropyvnytskyi Customs, Oleksandr Florinskyi, devised a simple scheme: $200 from a company representative — and the EUR.1 certificate for seamless export of bee honey was processed "out of turn." The first tranche — $400 — in October 2025. By the end of January 2026, another $800 accumulated. Six certificates, $1,200, fully admitted guilt.

Systematic extortion disguised as "helping colleagues"

According to case materials, Florinskyi not only received money — he promised to "influence colleagues" to speed up processing. In other words, the scheme involved a corrupt chain within the customs. One official "sold" influence over others. How many similar deals remain outside the case — an open question.

Fine of 59,500 hryvnias for customs corruption

The court considered the admission of guilt, lack of previous convictions, and the fact that Florinskyi transferred 220,000 hryvnias from bail to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The sentence — a fine of 59,500 hryvnias. Thus, corruption in customs, where million-dollar batches of goods can pass daily through "their" certificates, cost the official less than the price of an average smartphone.

Customs as a system — not as an exception

The Kropyvnytskyi Customs recorded over a hundred cases of customs violations during 2024–2025, but the real cost of "facilitation" in document processing is much higher than official statistics. Florinskyi is not an exception but an illustration: behind external controls lies an internal system of quiet arrangements.