Smuggling "in law": how the head of Lviv customs, Kuznik, enlisted the support of local law enforcement

Smuggling "in law": how the head of Lviv customs, Kuznik, enlisted the support of local law enforcement

Instead of counteracting "Grey" import schemes – close cooperation with corrupt officials?

In recent years, the Lviv Customs, led by Andriy Kuznik, has been accompanied by numerous corruption scandals – from the dismissal of an inspector due to a TikTok video showing luxury attire to the exposure of schemes involving the import of cars under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Former law enforcement officer Andriy Kuznik was officially appointed as the head of the Lviv Customs at the beginning of September this year. In this position, Lt. Col. Kuznik replaced the scandalous Oleh Shakhray.

Previously, Kuznik also headed the Rivne Customs and worked for 17 years in the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to TSN, Kuznik is part of one of the largest customs "clans" in the western region. According to his declaration for 2023, the lieutenant colonel owns a country plot near Kyiv with a small house, inherited, as well as a rented apartment in Lviv measuring 170 square meters.  

Kuznik’s mother, Viktoriya, also a former customs employee, is retired and owns four apartments in the capital and three plots of land near Kyiv. Viktoriya also owns a 2010 Lexus, which is used by her son. The official’s wife, Antonina Kuznik, worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs service centers until 2021, after which she opened a cosmetology studio "Shchaslyva ya" in a 5-star hotel in the center of Lviv. The rent cost is not specified in the declaration. In addition, Antonina is a transformational psychologist and earned about a million hryvnias in 2023. She also owns two plots of land in the village of Yablunytsia near Bukovel, purchased after the full-scale invasion began. The co-owner of the land is the wife of a former subordinate of Andriy Kuznik.

Where does this wealth come from?

According to our sources, former SSU employee and current head of Lviv Customs Andriy Kuznik, with the silent consent of local law enforcement leaders (regional SSU and State Bureau of Investigations), could have organized a scheme to import batches of goods from EU countries beyond customs control and with the evasion of customs duties, causing colossal losses to the state budget during wartime.

In turn, instead of fighting this shameful phenomenon, the local law enforcement block seems unable to figure out who will "oversee" the main smuggling flows. Thus, under the guise of countering duty-free imports, the SSU sent a group of employees to border checkpoints who, in fact, only demonstrate their authority and urge Kuznik to "close cooperation".

On the contrary, the State Bureau of Investigations also influences the customs head, but in a private manner, as the Bureau’s deputy director in Lviv Region, Dmytro Buznytskyi (formerly also an SSU employee), is an old acquaintance of Kuznik. According to insiders, Buznytskyi additionally receives a disability pension and all related benefits. It is curious whether his disability hinders his effective work in a law enforcement body of this level? And why do local law enforcement officers turn a blind eye to potential violations at Lviv Customs? It turns out that while some law enforcement officers defend Ukraine’s eastern frontiers from the Russian invasion, others are effectively legalizing smuggling on the western border.

Author: Mariya Fedorenko