Нікулеску Микола

Position: former deputy head of the customs post "Chernivtsi" of the Chernivtsi customs.

Sphere of corruption: customs.

Region of corruption activity: Chernivtsi region.

Qualification: the actions are qualified under Part 1 of Article 255, Part 2 of Article 364, Part 3 of Article 212, Part 4 of Article 345-1, Part 3 of Article 368, Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Status: received a suspended sentence of three years.

Case story: in April 2024, Chernivtsi customs uncovered a large-scale scheme for smuggling clothes, shoes, and accessories from Turkey worth over 290 million hryvnias. The criminal organization included the former head of Bukovina customs, a former deputy of the Chernivtsi regional council, customs employees, and entrepreneurs from Chernivtsi. In total, law enforcement officers detained 11 people, and the organizers have already been notified of the suspicion.

This was reported on April 16 by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, between 2017 and 2019, commercial goods were illegally imported from Turkey by trucks through the Vadul-Siret checkpoint on the Romanian-Ukrainian border. Officially, the transport was declared as empty or as cargo with cover goods — fabric, chipboard, bricks — with a significantly lower customs value. This made it possible to avoid paying import duty or reduce it to zero.

The organizers of the scheme provided such trucks with special access and unhindered customs clearance. The criminal activity lasted for years, and its participants behaved boldly and aggressively. According to the SAPO, in response to journalists' attempts to expose the scheme, the customs authorities organized their brutal beating.

The investigation established that the criminal organization consisted of 11 people: three employees of the Chernivtsi customs and eight individuals. One co-organizer and four participants were detained. The court is currently deciding on a preventive measure for them.

Searches within the framework of this proceeding took place on April 15 and 16. Journalist Taras Seredych reported that investigative actions were carried out, in particular, at the premises of the former head of customs Mykola Salahor, entrepreneur Yuriy Kushnir, and the current deputy head of the Chernivtsi customs post Mykola Nikulescu.

Ukrainian law enforcement officers cooperated with the customs authorities of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, which provided the necessary documents to confirm the smuggling scheme.

In December 2023, Chernivtsi customs already conducted large-scale searches within the framework of another proceeding - regarding the smuggling of electronic cigarettes through the Krasnoilsk checkpoint worth over 40 million hryvnias.

On September 13, NABU and SAPO announced the completion of the investigation into the case. It was established that the criminal organization included current and former officials of the Chernivtsi Customs, including its former head, a former deputy of the regional council, and representatives of local businesses.

The official is no longer working at Chernivtsi Customs. A reasoned conclusion on the verification of the declaration of the former deputy head of Chernivtsi Customs was sent to NABU. The official may face criminal liability.

Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: the criminal organization included current and former employees of the Chernivtsi Customs Service, including its former head, a former deputy of the Chernivtsi Regional Council, as well as representatives of local businesses.

The High Anti-Corruption Court has already handed down a verdict in the case of multi-million-dollar customs payments fraud. A former deputy of the Chernivtsi Regional Council and three former customs officers received suspended sentences of three years each.

The mitigating circumstance was cooperation with the investigation and the voluntary transfer of more than 10 million hryvnias in bail for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Assets: The NACP has exposed the former deputy head of Chernivtsi Customs Mykola Niculescu in falsely declaring his assets. The agency noted that this concerns cash owned by the official's wife, Natalya Solovey. This is over UAH 10 million.

However, during the inspection, it turned out that the official could not confirm where his wife got this money from. Former deputy head of the Chernivtsi customs post, head of the Chernivtsi customs department, Mykola Niculescu, provided false information about the property and cash owned by his wife in his 2023 declaration.

The certificate of results of a full audit of Nicolae Niculescu's declaration states that his wife is an entrepreneur. According to the declaration for 2023, she had cash in the amount of UAH 7 million and USD 100 thousand.

When explaining where his wife got her money from, Mykola Niculescu noted that she has been engaged in entrepreneurship for more than 20 years. In addition, in 2023 she received money as a gift from her mother in the amount of 2.1 million UAH, income from the sale of an apartment in the amount of 3.47 million UAH and the sale of a land plot in the amount of more than 50 thousand UAH. However, NACP specialists denied this information. According to information from the tax office, Niculescu's wife received income in the amount of 7.557 million UAH for the period 1999-2023.

She also received the aforementioned cash gift and income from the sale of an apartment and land. The wife made a number of expenses for the purchase of movable or immovable property in the total amount of UAH 5.825 million in 1999-2023 and provided a loan to the declaring entity in the amount of UAH 2 million. Income from entrepreneurial activity in 2023 in the amount of UAH 1.71 million was completely spent by a family member, which is confirmed by data from a banking institution.

According to the NACP, the cash asset for this entire period could not exceed UAH 3.646 million. However, currently the wife of the former deputy head of the customs has cash of more than UAH 10 million, and the difference between the unsubstantiated cash assets is UAH 7.1 million.