Odesa completes investigation into conspiracy to evade taxes worth 85 million

Detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa Oblast have sent to court an indictment against two officials of a construction company accused of failing to pay value added tax to the state budget in the amount of over UAH 85 million.

According to the BES press service, the defendants did not reflect income for construction work received from the Capital Construction Department of the Odesa City Council, the Prymorskyi District Administration of the Odesa City Council, the Dolyna Village Council of the Bolhradskyi District of Odesa Oblast, the Children's City Polyclinic No. 4 of Odesa City Council, the Department of Municipal Economy of Odesa City Council, and the Peresypskyi District Administration of Odesa City Council.

These actions resulted in non-payment of over UAH 85 million of value added tax to the state budget.

"The detectives found that the chief accountant of the construction company subsequently transferred the funds to the accounts of the organizer of the criminal group and his mother. As soon as the money was on the controlled accounts, the offenders spent it on the purchase of residential buildings, land plots, cars, apartments and a bath and laundry facility. In total, UAH 87.5 million was legalized," said Serhii Muntyan, Head of the BES in Odesa region.

It was also established that the suspects had been abroad for a long time, however, the SBU detectives detained them at a checkpoint when they were returning to Ukraine. The court imposed on the organizer of the criminal group and the accountant of the construction company a 60-day detention as a measure of restraint with an alternative to bail.

To ensure compensation for damage to the state budget, the seized property worth almost UAH 32 million was seized.

Кирило Бойко