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Lutsk entrepreneur Dmytro Melnyk, whom the public perceives as an investor in the publication "Babel" and a patron of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Volyn, has found himself at the centre of high-profile accusations. Head of the Verkhovna Rada tax committee Vadym Hetmanets stated that Melnyk's company is an active player in the shadow used car market. The volume of this market is estimated at 450 billion hryvnia annually.
For context: this amount is equivalent to approximately four annual budgets of Kyiv or constitutes 8.7% of the total revenues of the State Budget of Ukraine for the current year.
The annual volume of car sales in Ukraine is estimated at 1.2 million units, predominantly used cars. Due to unpaid taxes, the country's budget loses approximately 18 billion hryvnia annually. One of the common evasion methods is the use of forged Eur.1 certificates, which allows reducing the customs rate from 10–12% to 0–1.8%.
Vadym Hetmanets claims that West Auto Hub sells up to 30,000 cars while transferring almost no funds to the budget. The state losses from the activities of this structure, according to him, reach 4.1 billion hryvnia. According to media reports, West Auto Hub (legal name LLC "West Smart Hub") is part of the business group of Dmytro Melnyk and his partners, which unites over 30 companies linked by common owners, managers, and contact details.
In response to the accusations, West Auto Hub representatives assured that the company does not sell cars but has only consolidated all facilities necessary for the import procedure into a single hub. On the company's website, services in the automotive sector are described as follows: selection, delivery, declaration within the complex, certification, and technical inspection in one place. It is stated that the company brought in 160,000 cars. However, the types of activities are also vague: leasing of intellectual property, provision of moving services, and other auxiliary activities in the transport sector.
Regardless of official statements, West Auto Hub is involved in several criminal proceedings. Journalistic investigations point to its involvement in the case of importing a 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica collector's sports car into Ukraine two years ago, the price of which was likely understated by more than half. The company is also accused of reselling cars to buyers in Russia during the full-scale war.
Earlier, in 2019, the General Prosecutor's Office conducted a search at the company as part of a case involving illegal customs clearance of cars, sale of vehicles with forged documents, embezzlement of funds, and tax evasion.
Journalists analysed the activities of other structures where Dmytro Melnyk is a beneficiary or co-owner. Over 30 companies are part of this group, and almost half of them have faced legal problems in recent years. The businessman himself was also a debtor in several enforcement proceedings.
LLC "Invest Partners", registered in 2016 and engaged in car trading, is currently in liquidation due to bankruptcy. OSINT analysis established that Dmytro Melnyk was a historical manager of the company. In November 2011, officials were involved in an investigation on suspicion of collaborationist activities. According to the investigation, during wartime they purchased BMWs from the official dealer "AVT Bavaria Ukraine" and resold them in Russia. Case materials indicate that "Invest Partners" supported the operations of the West Auto Hub car dealership and acted as the formal buyer of cars that were later sold to Russians.
In June 2023, a court ruling in a criminal case regarding abuses by officials of the Lviv Customs mentioned LLC "AVG Cargo", in which Dmytro Melnyk holds a 46.28% share. The ruling indicates that the company accounted for vehicles cleared with the improper application of preferences.
The existence of older criminal proceedings indicates the systemic nature of the suspicious activities. For example, the Estonian company Luxsteel OÜ, of which Melnyk is a board member and beneficiary, was involved in a criminal case in 2015. Cars belonging to this structure were imported from Estonia with a significant understatement of customs value. From the Ukrainian side, the schemes involved PP "SADI" and PP "DISA". The investigation established that both companies, like the Estonian one, belonged to Melnyk. Numerous enterprises affiliated with him, according to the investigation's conclusion, could indicate signs of fictitious entrepreneurship and tax evasion.
Tax fraud is also attributed to the Lutsk Auto Repair Plant, which belongs to Melnyk through LLC "Zakhid Invest +". According to a court ruling, in 2018 the plant created an artificial tax credit, illegally obtained a budget refund, evaded tax payments, and committed official forgery. The plant was also involved in schemes for customs clearance of cars with subsequent sale using forged documents. A customs post was located directly on the enterprise's territory.
The SBU investigation established that the criminal group engaged in selling German BMWs to Russian occupiers also included LLC "AVG TR ANS", LLC "Auto West Group", LLC "AVG CARS", and LLC "AVG RENT", which operate under the West Auto Hub brand.
Business links with occupied territories existed earlier. The head of LLC "Company "AVK CERAMICA"", which trades in timber and building materials, is Crimean Andriy Poluektov, Melnyk's business partner. In May 2014, two months after the so-called "referendum", a clone of this company — OOO "AVK KERAMIKA" (Russian taxpayer identification number: 9102003399) — was registered in Simferopol. This structure operated under the occupation jurisdiction and paid taxes to the occupiers until June 2017.
The list of companies described above is only part of a network where one legal entity is a founder of another. The group has dozens of criminal proceedings to its name. Such a convoluted structure was likely created to hide traces of crimes and complicate the work of the investigation.
Dmytro Melnyk is also known as a patron: he is mentioned among those who helped build a church at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University and founded the Volyn Brotherhood named after Saint Vladimir the Great. This religious public organisation was also involved in a criminal case in 2025 regarding fraudulent schemes around volunteer aid to the military; the investigation seized a MITSUBISHI L200 vehicle belonging to the brotherhood.
Despite extensive business activities, the entrepreneur's financial status raises doubts. From 2014 to 2024, Dmytro Melnyk was a debtor in at least six enforcement proceedings. Among the creditors are individuals, "Nadra Bank", the state, and the Volyn tax service.
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