Detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (ESBU) secured UAH 531 million in excise tax refund in the framework of criminal proceedings on tax evasion by officials of PJSC Ukrtatnafta, the ESBU press service reports.
The investigation established that PJSC Ukrtatnafta produced and sold fuel through a network of gas stations without paying excise tax, although such tax was included in the price for consumers.
To ensure that the state budget receives funds as soon as possible, the Bureau of Economic Security offered the company to reimburse the state for the losses caused by one of the episodes of illegal activity. PJSC Ukrtatnafta transferred funds to the budget in several payments totalling UAH 531 million.
Earlier, the ESBU and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed former managers of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta for misappropriating UAH 40 billion. As part of the investigation, high-profile searches were conducted and the ESBU detectives served a notice of suspicion of tax evasion on a large scale to the former CEO and chief accountant of the company.
Law enforcement officers continue active investigative actions within the framework of criminal proceedings, establishing all the circumstances of the illegal activities of the former heads of these companies and documenting 10 episodes of criminal activity.
The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings is carried out by detectives of the ESBU under the procedural supervision of prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office. The basis for entering the information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations was the SBU materials on committing a criminal offence.