The illegal production of diesel fuel was exposed by operatives of Chernihiv Border Guard Detachment acting in cooperation with detectives of the Main Department of the Bureau of Economic Security

According to border guards, a criminal investigation has been launched into illegal operations involving excisable goods. During the investigation, it was found that illegal diesel fuel surrogate was being produced at a petroleum refining plant located in a border town in the Chernihiv district. Company officials organized large-scale production of low-quality fuel, obtained by adding various solvents to petroleum products. To avoid paying taxes, the produced goods were distributed to other regions of Ukraine as raw materials and sold for cash through an illegal gas station network.

According to the investigation, the scheme's perpetrators caused the state losses of more than 12 million hryvnias due to evasion of excise tax payment. As part of the investigation, operatives of the Chernihiv Border Guard Detachment, together with the economic security bureau's detectives in charge of circulation of excisable goods, conducted authorized searches in five places of accumulation and distribution of counterfeit fuel. The border guards of the 10th Mobile Border Guard Detachment provided security support for these actions. During the searches, over 1000 tons of illegal diesel fuel were seized, samples of which were sent for examination. Other items that could help prove the illegal activities of the offenders were also seized: computer equipment, documentation, etc.

The pre-trial investigation of the crime is being conducted by detectives of the economic security bureau with the operational support of the Main Operational Department of Chernihiv Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.