The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB) exposed a large-scale tax evasion scheme, as a result of which two ferroalloy plants affiliated with oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky evaded payment of almost 1.2 billion hryvnias. Enterprises abused by understating the value of their products, which they exported to European countries, in particular to Austria and Cyprus.
How did the scheme work?
According to BEB, the factories have been exporting ferroalloy products to a number of European countries for a long time, while deliberately underestimating their cost. This allowed them to avoid paying taxes in Ukraine. During 2022-2023, raw materials with a total value of 853 million US dollars were sent for export, but the foreign exchange earnings were not returned to Ukraine. One of the companies has a debt of 1.1 billion hryvnias.
The BEB launched investigative actions, including searches of businesses to gather evidence and seize documents confirming illegal activity. BEB employees plan to find the remains of ferroalloy products, as well as primary financial documentation, which will help complete the investigation.
The amount of evaded tax is 1.2 billion hryvnias. If proven guilty, companies can be held liable, which involves large fines and sanctions. In this case, the BEB also seized seven planes of a Cypriot company linked to this scheme.
