Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have revealed a scam for importing pesticides from an Asian country to Ukraine and selling them under the guise of European brands.

"SBU operatives established that businessmen ordered products in an Asian country and sold it in Ukraine under the guise of European brands. The scam was used in 2017-2018. The counterfeit products were imported via seaports," the press center of SBU reported on Tuesday.

As part of a criminal proceeding opened under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of authority or office) the law enforcement officers have raided premises of regional customs offices, the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, offices and warehouses of commercial firms in Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions.

"Documents confirming imports of counterfeit products were seized. SBU officers revealed around 150 tonnes of counterfeit pesticides for almost UAH 18 million, which were imported to Ukraine without proper permits," the press center said.

During the pretrial investigation officials are being checked if they played a role in the organization of the scam and causing damage to the health of the population and environment over the use of earlier imported counterfeit pesticides.