A canning factory in the Odesa region is suspected of failing to pay 30 million in taxes

In Odesa, a court denied the prosecutor’s office’s request to seize documents from a canning factory suspected of tax evasion totaling more than 30 million hryvnias. Investigators were examining transactions involving the purchase of nearly 14,000 metric tons of apples.

The decision was issued by the Khadzhibey District Court of Odesa.

The Odessa Regional Office of the State Bureau of Investigations is investigating possible tax evasion by the Rakhnyansky-Forest Canning Plant, which produces juices and fruit purees.

According to the case file, the company may have failed to pay 30.44 million hryvnias in income tax. The investigation also established a probable overstatement of the VAT tax credit by 26.9 million hryvnias, which could have resulted in an understatement of tax by nearly 24.9 million hryvnias.

The investigation focused on transactions involving the purchase of apples through several companies. The documents listed 13.9 million kilograms of produce worth over 169.1 million hryvnias. Law enforcement officials questioned whether these deliveries actually took place.

The supply chain included the companies “Likadra DoF,” “Fruddo,” “Proddo,” “Sady Halychyny,” “Trade Kharkiv,” and “Brok-Consulting Biznesa.” According to investigators, the tax invoices did not confirm the actual movement of the declared volumes of products.

Documents regarding the transportation of apples also raised doubts. Investigators found discrepancies in the information about drivers and vehicles, and some of the individuals listed on the invoices denied their involvement in the shipments. Witnesses also reported that the warehouse in the Vinnytsia region was not used to store or load such volumes of products.

In April 2026, during a search on Balkivska Street in Odesa, law enforcement officers seized financial documents, cash books, contracts, purchase orders, and shipping documents.

The prosecutor’s office asked the court to seize the documents for safekeeping and further investigation. Representatives of the company and the joint venture “Vitmark-Ukraine” objected to this.

After the Odesa Court of Appeals overturned the previous ruling to seize the documents, the motion was reconsidered. However, the investigating judge denied the motion.

Анна Літман