Ukraine has dismantled a long-running money laundering scheme involving pharmacy chains across the country. The companies were artificially underpaying income tax, resulting in over 2 billion hryvnias being siphoned off into shadow circulation.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced the discovery of the scheme. The investigation is being conducted by the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office together with the State Tax Service.
According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme established a foreign representative office in Ukraine in 2021, which registered patents for disinfection of premises and control of rodents using ultrasonic radiation. Later, these patents became a key element of tax manipulations.
During 2022–2025, the scheme involved about ten pharmacy chains, uniting 183 enterprises throughout Ukraine. The companies systematically transferred funds to the foreign representative office under the guise of paying royalties for the use of patents.
The prosecutor's office emphasizes that such payments had no real economic meaning. They were fictitious services, including instructions for disinfecting premises in a way that does not actually exist. The investigation did not establish any real business transactions or services provided.
To legalize fictitious transactions, the organizer involved controlled persons, appointed a loyal director and chief accountant, concluded fictitious license agreements, and signed acts of "services rendered," knowing for a fact that these services were not performed.
Based on the results of the pre-trial investigation and tax research, law enforcement officers established that in 2022–2025 alone, more than 2 billion hryvnias were withdrawn into shadow circulation thanks to this scheme.
The director and chief accountant of the controlled structures have been notified of suspicion of official forgery. They have already given evidence to the investigation. The organizer of the scheme has been declared suspicious of official forgery and legalization of proceeds of crime. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
