Nearly UAH 10 million paid to the budget: ESBU in Odesa completes tax evasion investigation

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Odesa region have completed a pre-trial investigation into the director of a construction company who organized a significant VAT evasion scheme.

The investigation was initiated based on analytical materials provided by the Information Analysis and Risk Management Department of the ESBU Territorial Office in the Odesa region.

It was established that the director of the enterprise, which specializes in manufacturing construction materials, intentionally included fictitious transactions for the purchase of cement, mineral powder, and adhesive additives from several contractors totaling nearly UAH 60 million in the tax records. However, these transactions lacked official confirmation.

As a result of these actions, the enterprise unjustifiably generated a tax credit of nearly UAH 10 million, which allowed for a significant reduction in VAT liabilities. Consequently, UAH 10 million in value-added tax failed to reach the state budget.

The suspect was notified of suspicion of committing a crime under Article 212, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, regarding the intentional tax evasion.

During the pre-trial investigation, the company fully reimbursed the state for the damages caused in the amount of nearly UAH 10 million and transferred an additional UAH 1 million to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Operational support was provided by detectives of the Strategic Economic Protection Department of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region. Procedural oversight was carried out by prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

It should be noted that, according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven through legal procedures and established by a court verdict.