Collecting taxes for Russians in occupation: two residents of Kherson region are served suspicion notices

The State Bureau of Investigation has served suspicion notices to two defectors who collected tribute for the occupiers in Kherson

According to the investigation, a 51-year-old and a 48-year-old woman cooperated with the occupation authorities in the summer of 2022, when Kherson was under the control of the invaders. For their willingness to help the enemy in creating a system of tax collection to the budget of the aggressor country, the defectors were given leadership positions in the illegally created "tax service of Kherson region". One of the defendants headed the general department, and the other was appointed deputy head of the taxpayer registration and accounting department. In their managerial positions, they helped the occupation authorities fill the invaders' treasury by performing organizational, administrative, and economic functions.

After the liberation of the city, they fled with the occupiers to the territory not controlled by Ukraine. The defectors were served a notice of suspicion of voluntarily taking up positions in an illegally created law enforcement agency in the temporarily occupied territory. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 15 years with confiscation of property.

Earlier, under the procedural supervision of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, a local resident was served a notice of suspicion of collaboration. In September 2022, the suspect was appointed to the position of a so-called "representative of the precinct election commission" operating in the Suvorov district of Kherson and preparing a pseudo-referendum on the region's accession to Russia. The woman received "voters" in the premises where the polling station was set up, issued ballots, and checked people against the lists.

Also, in Kherson region, the "head and member of the PEC" in Mykilske will be tried for organizing and holding an illegal referendum. In addition, a law enforcement officer from Kherson region who forced Ukrainians to participate in the pseudo-referendum was suspected .

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