The gang offered a variety of fake documents, including driving licenses, vehicle registration certificates, and residence permits for foreigners, the National Police of Ukraine stated Monday.
Police revealed that some forged documents, like medical records, enabled draft-age men to illegally cross the state border, evading military service amid ongoing war with Russia.
Investigators found that the starting price for a forged document with holographic security elements was 8,000 hryvnias (about $200).
Law enforcement officers documented the production of hundreds of fake documents, resulting in illegal profits exceeding 1.6 million Ukrainian Hryvnias ($39,457).
Operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations in Khmelnytskyi identified a 29-year-old local resident as the mastermind behind the group’s operations.
According to police, the gang operated from rented premises, with each member assigned specific tasks: purchasing blank documents, managing online platforms like Telegram for client orders, creating virtual payment channels, and producing and shipping the fake documents directly to customers.
Products were discreetly mailed to clients upon completion.
During a late June operation, police conducted 37 searches across homes and offices in Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi, seizing nearly UAH 1.2 million ($29,589) in various currencies. They also confiscated specialized forgery equipment, bank cards, postal receipts, blank official document forms, mobile phones, computers, and draft records.
If convicted, the gang leader and his two accomplices face up to five years in jail.
Ukrainian law enforcement reiterated their commitment to apprehending all individuals involved in these illegal activities and ensuring justice is served.
