Law enforcement uncovered a "factory" producing counterfeit documents.

Law enforcement officials have shut down an underground "factory" producing counterfeit documents. Monthly, the criminals "earned" up to three million hryvnias.

This is reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the Telegram channel of the National Police of Ukraine.

Details of the Case

The criminals organized a large-scale production of fake documents, including those issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).

The "business" was organized by a 27-year-old resident of Prykarpattia, who involved other individuals from various regions.

Among the range of counterfeit documents produced by the "factory":

• passport;
• driver's license;
• vehicle registration certificate;
• various documents from institutions and organizations.

Particularly, one could purchase identification from the National Police, State Emergency Service, National Guard, and SSU.

Orders were accepted by the suspects via Telegram, and to avoid detection by law enforcement, they set up their own system of concealment using one-day SIM cards. All shipments were sent at night through parcel lockers.

The cost of the counterfeit depended on the complexity of the document and urgency of production:

• driver's license cost just over 8,000 hryvnias;
• foreign passport - around 2,000 dollars;
• SSU or National Police identification - 1,500 dollars.

Monthly, the criminals' income reached up to three million hryvnias.

Photo: law enforcement officials uncovered the "factory" for counterfeit documents (t.me/UA_National_Police)

In total, law enforcement conducted over 30 searches at the suspects' locations, during which they discovered:

• blank "identifications" from the SSU, National Guard, Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Emergency Service, and UBD; state seals from various government institutions;
• templates for passports and driver's licenses;
• sketches of seals with Russian symbolism.

What Awaits

The main figures in the case have been detained and notified of suspicion under:

• Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 199;
• Part 3 of Article 358.

They face up to ten years in prison.

Recall that RBK-Ukraine reported that recently an attorney was uncovered in Kyiv for forging a district court letter to seize funds amounting to 4 million hryvnias.

In particular, in 2023 the director of a public organization was exposed for falsifying documents for Russians to assist them in leaving the country.