06.07.2024 Money laundering

Smuggling at EU Border Checkpoints During the War: The Story of Grantz, the Smuggling King

Владелец "Креатива": Я готов продать свою долю хоть завтра | Экономическая правда

Even during the war, Ukraine’s duty-free trade networks continue to facilitate a significant flow of contraband, including unauthorized use of personal data of those crossing the Ukrainian border.

For instance, since the invasion, the sole leader in Duty Free cigarette sales has been businessman Arthur Grantz, who is of Belarusian origin. Grantz is the beneficiary of LLC “Duty Free Trading” at the Porubne-Siret checkpoint (on the border with Romania). In 2022 alone, 4,252,700 packs of cigarettes were “sold” (25 packs per purchaser).

How the Scheme Works? Border guards pass the personal data of individuals crossing the border to people working for Belarusian businessman Grantz. These operatives buy the information and subsequently register purchases in their duty-free network.

This is done to officially account for the tobacco products, which are then sold without excise duty by Grantz’s operatives to smugglers and sent to European Union countries. Despite being well-documented by the media, law enforcement remains silent. Why?

Perhaps because Arthur Grantz simply could not have reached such heights in Ukraine without the participation of top law enforcement officials? Given the realities of life, the businessman’s ties to Belarus and Russia, where big business is impossible to imagine without close ties to the security services, are alarming.

Who is Arthur Grantz?

Arthur Grantz is considered the king of duty-free, owning numerous duty-free shops in airports like “Boryspil” and “Zhulyany” in Ukraine. For instance, in just November-December 2020, duty-free shops at Kyiv International Airport (Zhulyany) “sold” passengers, formally according to documents, 530,584 packs of cigarettes—23 packs per person.

In reality, people were unaware they had “bought” boxes of cigarettes. These non-excise tobacco products were distributed to illegal retail points across Ukraine and sold for cash.

With the full-scale invasion and the closure of airspace, Grantz’s business did not stop. On the contrary, duty-free at EU border checkpoints continued their traditional schemes. Through his company LLC “Duty Free Trading” at the Porubne-Siret checkpoint, Grantz illegally registered 30 liters of strong alcohol for each person crossing the checkpoint, without paying excise tax, as the alcohol was officially exported.

Similar schemes exist at Grantz’s duty-free shops at the Dyakove-Halmeu and Uzhhorod-Vyshne Nemetske car checkpoints.

As one of the publications noted: “It seems that Ukrainian women and their children (because the men don’t leave) refused to eat and drink in order to get into this miracle store and buy 2.5 cartons of cigarettes. Other Granz stores did not back down either, resulting in over 10 million packs sold in a year, but we’ll leave the details for later. The guys are doing a great job, aren’t they? That’s what monopolists are for.”

Grantz owns over 35 duty-free shops in Belarus and partners with the “Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus,” suggesting a partnership with Lukashenko.

Another aspect is also interesting. As noted earlier, Granz is of Belarusian origin, and thus has a corresponding passport. At the same time, his sons, David and Arman, live in the Moscow region and own several trading companies, such as Avangard LLC and Mika Holding LLC. Their brother, Maren Granz, who owns Mag-Inter LLC, also lives near them and is engaged in the trade business.

Granz’s business empire

Grantz’s empire includes numerous companies facilitating tax evasion and money laundering:

  • LLC “Avtoport-Chop”
  • Association of Duty-Free Shops of Ukraine
  • LLC “Kyivrianta”
  • SP in the form of LLC “Duty Free Trading”
  • SP “Mello Duty Free” in the form of LLC
  • LLC “Shokoladnitsa-Ukraine”
  • LLC “BF Group”
  • LLC “BF and GH Travel Retail Ltd”
  • LLC “Aero Restaurants”
  • LLC “Nova City”
  • LLC “MyDutyFree”
  • LLC “Imagine!”

Grantz owns these companies through offshore entities like T.R.P. Travel Retail Partners Limited (Cyprus), avoiding taxes and legalizing illicit proceeds.

By the way, through the LLC “IMAGINE!” Granz became the owner of the Forbes publishing house in Ukraine in 2020. Therefore, he now has full power over the magazine: he conceals, distorts facts, presents materials in such a way as to “whitewash” himself and give readers the impression that Arthur Granz is an honest entrepreneur.

He also likes to order articles from other “independent” media. This can be explained by the Belarusian’s desire to drown his competitors and appear to the public as “white and fluffy.”

There are many more details about the activities of businessman Artur Hrantz. We will continue in the next part.

The legal department of NGO “NON-STOP” has prepared and sent materials to the competent authorities regarding Grantz’s illegal activities, demanding a check on the illicit sale of tobacco and alcohol to individuals crossing the border and initiating control measures on smuggling and the officials supporting these illegal actions.

We will keep a close watch on further developments.

Did you witness a crime?

Let us know about it. We will help protect the violated rights!

Share the post:

Last news

ALL NEWS ALL ARTICLES