Counterfeit Medicines Worth Millions of Hryvnias Imported from Russia

Ukrainian border guards exposed a multimillion hryvnias scheme for smuggling and counterfeiting medicines across Ukraine’s state border.

In particular, they discovered a large-scale, transnational channel for smuggling medicines across the state border of Ukraine with signs of counterfeit within a criminal proceeding.

A MAN vehicle was stopped at the Bachivsk crossing point on the border with Russia. It contained medicines with signs of counterfeit, medicine packages, and instructions for use.

At the same time, persons, whose role was to obtain smuggled supplies and further distribute them to a network of pharmacies for sale, were searched in Kyiv. The raids on pharmacies involved in the retail sale of medicines with signs of counterfeit were also conducted.

In total, more than 10,000 units of medicines of over 1,000 items were seized, the cost of which can be estimated at millions of hryvnias. Everything was sent for relevant expert examinations.

A criminal proceeding is being launched under Part 2 of Article 305 (Smuggling of narcotics, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors or counterfeit medicines), Part 2 of Article 321-1 (Counterfeiting of medicines or distributing of counterfeit medicines), and Part 3 of Article 229 (Illegal use of a trade (or service) mark, registered trade name, qualified indication of origin) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Natalia Tolub