Indictment in the ESBU case over shell company and UAH 2.8 million tax scheme sent to the court

 An Odesa resident who registered a company under his name using knowingly false information will stand trial. Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau in the Odesa region have completed an investigation into the forgery of documents submitted for the state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

Analysts of the  Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region identified a risk that the enterprise might have failed to calculate and pay approximately UAH 2.8 million in corporate income tax to the state budget. They established that the company attempted to file customs declarations to export 1,700 tons of peas valued at over UAH 11.8 million. However, they failed to verify the agricultural product's supply chain from the producer to the exporter through tax reporting and actual factual circumstances.

During the pre-trial investigation, detectives discovered that the exporters were trying to use the company's credentials to minimize their tax burden. The company was being used to convert non-cash funds into cash for enterprises in the real sector of the economy.

The suspect in the criminal proceedings performed no actual functions at the enterprise after receiving a UAH 4,000 monetary reward. All documents were drawn up and signed by other individuals, whose actions are being investigated in separate criminal proceedings.

Thanks to the timely and swift actions of the ESBU analysts and detectives, the tax scheme was dismantled, and the illegal export of agricultural products was prevented.

The man who registered the shell company was served a notice of suspicion for committing a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 205-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (forgery of documents submitted for the state registration of a legal entity and individual entrepreneurs). The indictment has been sent to the court.

The sanction of the article provides for a punishment in the form of a fine of eight thousand to ten thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, or imprisonment for a term of three to five years, with or without the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years.

Procedural guidance is provided by prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Notably, according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court's verdict of guilty.