?? Smuggling in Ukraine Linked to Ex-Border Official’s Company —China Tobacco has exported hundreds of millions of cigarettes to Ukraine, even though none of its brands are legally sold there.
One of its top customers was a company under investigation for smuggling tobacco. It’s now co-owned by Vadym Sliusariev, a former border official with close ties to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read the full story.
? The Big Picture: A factory in Romania produces most of China Tobacco’s brands for the European market, which include packs with names like Regina and Marble.
Our two European investigations tie this factory’s output to organized crime groups, conflict zones in the Middle East, and Ukrainian companies under investigation for large-scale smuggling.
Why hasn’t this EU-based factory faced more scrutiny? |