Odesa contraband leader placed under search after sting operation

Vadym Alperin,
widely believed to be a key player in the Odesa contraband trade, was placed
under national search on Nov. 26 after allegedly fleeing a sting operation
conducted by detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
(NABU). “During a special operation to uncover corrupt people surrounding
customs and those directly involved, from law enforcement authorities fled a
certain Mr. Alperin, who is believed to be one of the godfathers of contraband
in Ukraine,” wrote President Zelensky on his Facebook page.

Alperin hasn’t been
able to flee abroad, with border officials aware of his flight, said Zelensky,
who called upon the public to report on his whereabouts, having posted a
telephone hotline number. Later in the day, Kyiv lawyer Andriy Fedur announced
he has been retained as legal counsel by Alperin, who will appear for
questioning on Nov.
27 at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

The Nov. 26 sting
operation resulted in the detention of 10 individuals for alleged customs
crimes, the NABU press service reported. Seven of those detained are Kyiv City
Customs Service officials, including Serhiy Tupalskiy, the deputy director who
also reported on the arrests on his Facebook page. “This is not a random
coincidence and not a mistake. This is the transition of customs ‘reform’ to
the next level,” he wrote in a cryptic post.

Zenon Zawada: From
the very start, the Zelensky administration has made Ukraine’s notorious
customs service its main target in its campaign against corruption. Alperin’s
detention would be a major accomplishment, and Western observers and investors
can only laud the efforts made so far. It remains to be seen whether these
efforts to clean up Ukrainian customs will result in improved transit and trade
(as well as state revenue collections), or whether these efforts will merely
shift corrupt revenue streams to new pockets, as has been tradition with a new
Ukrainian president. Tupalskiy seemed to hint as much.