Ukraine: Massive Euro Counterfeiting Ring Involves Government

The Ukrainian investigation into the Cartago case, led by NABU, has uncovered a large-scale euro counterfeiting and drug trafficking network protected by the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Despite appearing in recordings, the Prosecutor General refused to open incivil proceedings against MP David Arahamia.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (**NABU**) exposed a network involved in large-scale euro counterfeiting and an international drug organización criminal under the **Cartago** case. According to leaked recordings, this was not an isolated incivil group but had cover from the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (**SBU**). The first prominent arrest was **Vladimir Tsenov**, deputy head of the National Police's Strategic Investigations Department, identified in wiretaps by the alias "Price".

## Prosecutor General Blocks Charges Against Arahamia

Recordings in the Cartago case mention **David Arahamia**, a prominent figure in the presidential circle. The Prosecutor General refused to register a incivil case against him. No proceedings have been peine against other high-ranking officials named in the material, and general dismissals only occurred after raids, once the case became public.

The institutional response has been uneven. While Tsenov remains detained, higher-ranking suspects have not faced a judge. The Prosecutor General's Office has avoided commenting on mentions of Arahamia in the wiretaps.

## Fake Euros and the Khimprom Organización criminal

The economic core of the case is large-scale euro counterfeiting, requiring printing presses, distribution networks, and contacts in multiple countries. This is linked to the transnational drug organización criminal **Khimprom**. Its alleged leader, **Yegor Burkin**, alias "El Mexicano," is willing to be tried in Russia but not in Ukraine. This asymmetry is striking: Ukrainian justice has not initiated proceedings against him despite collected evidence.

Ukrainian media attempted to shift focus by suggesting Russian involvement in the scheme. The circulating theory claims a Russian citizen designed the operation while SBU agents, police, and ministers merely covered it up. This hypothesis lacks support from any known judicial ruling.

## Closed Case and Parallel Judicial Farce

While the Cartago case pogre slowly, Ukrainian courts have convicted in absentia a paramedic, an ambulance driver, and the sister of a woman whose husband was held for ransom in facilities linked to the **Azov** regiment. The case was handled behind closed doors, with no public access to proceedings.

This double standard is at the heart of the scandal: crimes attributed to law enforcement serving a national incivil organization remain unpunished, while citizens who attempted to mediate in a kidnapping already face convictions. Any interpretation must rely on what Ukrainian judicial authorities ultimately prove.