Enterprises are suspected of deliberately underestimating the rent for subsoil use by UAH 10 billion. Employees of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine conduct investigative actions, searches in the administrative and office buildings of 2 mining and beneficiation plants that carry out primary processing of minerals.

These plants and a dozen other companies belong to the group of economic entities that are connected. Their sole beneficial owner is one of the richest oligarchs of Ukraine, who is being in the Principality of Monaco.

The searches are conducted for the purpose of gathering evidence. In addition, with the involvement of a specialist and an expert chemist, surveys of deposits and mineral processing facilities of mining and beneficiation plants are carried out. Samples of "poor ore" and concentrate were selected for comprehensive examinations.

During the pre-trial investigation, the ESBU detectives found out that the officials of one of these enterprises in the period 2018-2021 underestimated the tax obligations from the rent payment for the use of subsoil in the amount of almost UAH 7.6 billion.

The investigation discovered that the employees of another company also deliberately understated the tax obligations from rent payments for the use of subsoil in the amount of more than UAH 2.7 billion. Such actions of violators led to the fact that funds in the amount of more than 10 billion UAH were not received by the State Budget of Ukraine.

Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on grounds of violation of part 3 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (evasion of taxes, fees, mandatory payments) are carried out by detectives of the Main unit of detectives of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine under the operational support of the Security Service of Ukraine employees. The facts of tax evasion were established in cooperation with the employees of the State Tax Service of Ukraine.

Reminder: The ESBU analytics analyze the financial and economic activities of companies owned by influential Ukrainian businessmen, members of Parliament and persons that are related to them. In total, these are more than 100 people who have been doing business in Ukraine for a long time and have enriched themselves through tax evasion and other economic crimes. With the stolen funds, they buy luxury real estate, yachts, vacation in Monaco during the war, and have a luxurious life in other European countries. The ESBU specialists analyze a risky business in many sectors of the economy: mining, agriculture, chemical industry, etc. Currently, the ESBU detectives are conducting pre-trial investigations in several criminal proceedings regarding the mentioned offenses.