Apartment sales under the guise of «joint activity»: Uzhhorod developer reimburses UAH 6.7 million in damages

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Zakarpattia region have completed a pretrial investigation into a tax evasion case involving a developer from Uzhhorod. Over UAH 6.7 million in damages caused to the state has been fully reimbursed.

The investigation established that the developer, acting as a natural person, organized the construction of a residential complex and the sale of apartments.

To reduce tax liabilities, he concluded «joint activity» agreements with buyers. Formally, such agreements provide for the joint participation of the parties in construction, the contribution of funds, and the subsequent distribution of the results.

In reality, the buyers did not act as co-investors and did not participate in the project's implementation. They only paid funds to receive housing. In this way, the developer used 'joint activity' agreements to mask the actual sale of real estate and understate tax liabilities.

Income from the sale of housing was not reflected in tax reporting, and taxes were not paid to the budget.

Detectives notified the suspect of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional tax evasion on a large scale).

Damages caused to the state budget have been reimbursed in full. A motion to release the person from criminal liability has been sent to the court in accordance with Part 4 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Procedural guidance was provided by prosecutors of the Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office.