In 2018, the former head of fiscal service Myroslav Prodan purchased stationary scanners for customs checkpoints. In response, with the help of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Security Service, the corrupt coterie of ex-President Poroshenko initiated a frame-up criminal case against Prodan. Recently, the scanners have been put in service. The equipment will help President Volodymyr Zelensky fulfil his promise, that is, to significantly reduce smuggling by 2020.
A real revolution is taking place at Ukrainian customs. For the first time in the history of the country, all truck haulage will go through customs inspection using stationary scanners. A similar system can be found in many countries, allowing them to control the flow of goods. In Ukraine, the purchase of scanners has turned into a real crime drama.
The need for scanners was raised by the former head of the State Fiscal Service Myroslav Prodan back in 2017. Under the leadership of Myroslav Prodan, the SFS has held a number of consultations with European partners.
"As a matter of fact, we followed the Polish example as they use 37 modern stationary scanners at the state border, and we adapted this model to the special aspects of Ukraine," says Myroslav Prodan.
According to him, prevailing against smuggling schemes will not only replenish the state budget and improve the balance of payments, but it will also provide the necessary resources to put reforms in place and to stop the outflow of labour abroad. Indeed, according to experts, smuggling schemes cost Ukraine nearly 1 million workplaces every year.
Nevertheless, the first tender for the purchase of scanners prepared by the Prodan team was blocked by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. One of the bidders, who did not represent the interests of any of the equipment manufacturers, filed a complaint. Although the claims were completely meaningless, the committee blocked the competitive tender. Before Myroslav Prodan's idea was finally realized, the State Fiscal Service had made four unsuccessful attempts to hold a tender. And every time, purchases were blocked due to reasons the fiscal service had no influence on.
But Prodan did not stop, and thanks to Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, he finally managed to hold another tender.
He was assisted in bidding by the head of the National Customs Service Maxim Nefyodov, who at the time was deputy minister of economic development.
As a result, Prodan managed to purchase special equipment of the Chinese company Nuctech Company Limited in the open auction. The Chinese contractor provided a much lower price than manufacturers from the US and Germany.
“Stationary scanning systems will operate at key checkpoints at the state border with all neighbouring countries. The main priority is the western border, which is loaded with goods and passenger traffic the most, and, accordingly, has the highest rate of smuggling. Installation of stationary scanning systems at those checkpoints will effectively counteract the penetration of smuggled goods into the territory of Ukraine. It is impossible to fight corruption in the country without destroying one of its fodder bases - smuggling. And in order to prevail against smuggling, we need modern equipment,” said Myroslav Prodan.
The scanning systems are located at Uzhgorod and Chop checkpoints in Zakarpattia Oblast, Rava-Ruska, Korczowa-Krakovets and Shehyni in Lviv Oblast, Yagodyn in Volyn Oblast, and Porubne in Chernivtsi Oblast. Within the second phase, this high-tech equipment will be installed in the largest seaports on the Black Sea, where the lion's share of containers enters Ukraine. To represent the effect of the introduction of scanners in ports, it is enough to say that so far, only 5 percent of the containers go through full or partial customs inspection. Therefore, smugglers have a fair chance to avoid paying customs taxes.
For the realization of this revolutionary idea for Ukrainian customs, Myroslav Prodan not only lost his position, but was also prosecuted for fake criminal proceedings. President Petro Poroshenko's corrupt coterie has taken Prodan’s actions very negatively. After all, due to the scanners and steps to limit the influence of officials close to Poroshenko on the customs, they will lose control of the smuggling flows, which were taken care of by the top of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Therefore, in the summer of 2018, a criminal case was fabricated against Prodan. The head of the Customs and Tax Services was accused, without any evidence, of illegally acquiring a number of real estate in Ukraine and Turkey. Prodan’s family was also prosecuted. For example, a garden plot and a small old house of the official’s mother, who lives in a small town 500 kilometres from the capital, have been arrested.
As evidence, the investigators used correspondence in the Telegram messenger of unknown origin as the Prodan’s phone had never been confiscated. The correspondence was also not found in the phone of Prodan’s acquaintance, the owner of the Turkish real estate Maxim Pavitsky. Subsequently, it was found that the correspondence was fake.
Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation suspect that the case against Prodan was fabricated by the SBU at the request of the country's top leadership. The charges can be brought against the ex-deputy head of the notorious “K” department of the SBU Serhii Kovalenko. In addition to the scanners, Prodan’s attempts to prevent the illegal supplies of oil products, smuggling of timber and other shady streams were also blocked.
The process of shipping and installing scanners is quite lengthy and takes a year and a half. The purchased scanners are installed and put into service and will be ready for use after some formal procedures are completed.
Recently, President Zelensky has said he hoped to significantly reduce smuggling by the end of this year. According to experts, without the scanners, the plans of the new president will not be realized. Consequently, after winning the smuggling war, the new government must thank the person who, under Poroshenko's power, was considered a criminal.
Most of the parties in the case against Myroslav Prodan left the country after the elections. Myroslav Prodan himself, whose criminal case was closed in March 2019, continues to defend his honest name by trying to get a court order that would state that the charges were fabricated and evidence was fraudulent. According to Prodan’s lawyers, their goal is not to get moral compensation from the state, but the punishment for those who prosecuted Myroslav Prodan and his family members.
