ESBU refers the case of misappropriation of PJSC Ukrnafta funds and tax evasion to the court

 Detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine have referred an indictment to the court regarding the director of a private contracting company who misappropriated funds during operations involving the transportation and storage of petroleum products.

As a result of his actions, PJSC Ukrnafta suffered losses of over UAH 16 million. Damage was also caused to the state budget through the evasion of Value Added Tax, amounting to UAH 10 million.

The investigation established that in 2023, under the conditions of the full-scale armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, the management of PJSC Ukrnafta, in order to protect strategic assets, decided to move its petroleum products from permanent storage locations to safer locations.

For this purpose, the company concluded an agreement with a private contractor for freight forwarding services for rail cars with the temporary use of railway access tracks.

However, as the detectives revealed, the director of the contracting company took advantage of the situation and submitted certificates of completion containing false information to the customer, stating the acceptance and presence of rail cars on the access tracks, although they had not actually arrived at the railway station.

As a result of documenting these fictitious services, PJSC Ukrnafta suffered over UAH 16 million in losses, which was confirmed by expert conclusions.

Furthermore, it was established that the suspect entered into several agreements for freight forwarding services with enterprises showing signs of fictitiousness. Operations under these agreements were not actually carried out, which allowed for the evasion of Value Added Tax in the amount of UAH 10 million.

The actions of the private company director were qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or seizure of it by abuse of office) and Part 3 of Article 212 (tax evasion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The actions of the private company director were qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement, or seizure of property through abuse of office), Part 3 of Article 212 (tax evasion), and Part 1 of Article 366 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Procedural guidance in the criminal proceedings is carried out by prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General.