diff --git a/cmd/frostfs-cli/modules/container/create.go b/cmd/frostfs-cli/modules/container/create.go
index 10d53a7d..37827b61 100644
--- a/cmd/frostfs-cli/modules/container/create.go
+++ b/cmd/frostfs-cli/modules/container/create.go
@@ -185,12 +185,12 @@ func parseContainerPolicy(cmd *cobra.Command, policyString string) (*netmap.Plac
 		return &result, nil
 	}
 
-	if err = result.UnmarshalJSON([]byte(policyString)); err == nil {
+	if err := result.UnmarshalJSON([]byte(policyString)); err == nil {
 		common.PrintVerbose(cmd, "Parsed JSON encoded policy")
 		return &result, nil
 	}
 
-	return nil, errors.New("can't parse placement policy")
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("can't parse placement policy: %w", err)
 }
 
 func parseAttributes(dst *container.Container, attributes []string) error {