Luxury car scheme: official who disappeared from Germany 10 years ago returned to Ukraine

German law enforcement agencies have handed over to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) a figure in a high-profile 2015 case – a former Ministry of Internal Affairs employee who used forged documents to legalize a luxury car.

This former employee, suspected of illegally re-registering premium cars, was brought to Ukraine on September 9, 2025, through the Krakivets checkpoint in the Lviv region. The SBI confirmed this information.

In 2015, he was exposed during the implementation of a scheme that involved the use of false documents and forging a car’s body number. As a result of this crime, the victims suffered financial losses of more than a million hryvnias at the then-current prices.

After the offense was discovered, the man left Ukraine and went to Germany, where he was suspected of official forgery and abuse of power. He was placed on the international wanted list, and Ukraine chose a preventive measure in the form of detention.

Over the following years, the search for the suspect continued. When the State Bureau of Investigation identified his location, the information was shared with international partners, and German law enforcement officers subsequently detained him.

After considering the request from the Prosecutor General’s Office, Germany agreed to the extradition of the former official. Upon arrival in Ukraine, he was immediately detained, and the court decided to detain him. The former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is charged with abuse of office and official forgery, which led to serious consequences, for which he faces up to 6 years in prison.

It should also be noted that suspicion was previously declared against the former head of Lviv Railways, who is suspected of causing losses to Ukrzaliznytsia of over 31 million hryvnias.