Selling sugar for cash and without taxes: ESBU exposes a 73 million UAH scheme

 Selling products for cash and concealing the real volumes of business activity - ESBU detectives have exposed a tax evasion scheme at an agricultural enterprise in the Kharkiv region. According to the investigation, the company failed to pay over 73 million UAH in value-added tax to the budget.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Poltava region notified two founders of the enterprise (father and son) and the executive director of suspicion on the facts of tax evasion on an especially large scale and falsification of documents for the state registration of a legal entity.

The investigation established that for two years, the private agricultural enterprise purchased sugar and reflected these operations in accounting and tax records. At the same time, they sold the products without reflecting them in official reporting—for cash and without paying mandatory taxes.

In total, the enterprise purchased over 20 thousand tons of sugar with an estimated value of about 439 million UAH.

To conceal the real volumes of product sales and avoid tax liabilities, the individuals created a firm registered to a front citizen of another country. The sugar was allegedly transferred to the balance sheet of this company.

As a result of these actions, the state budget lost out on over 73 million UAH in value-added tax.

The founders of the enterprise are charged with organizing intentional tax evasion on an especially large scale under part 3 of article 27 and part 3 of article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Also, all three individuals involved were notified of suspicion under part 2 of article 205-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (falsification of documents submitted for the state registration of a legal entity, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons).

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Prosecutorial guidance is provided by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office. Operational support is provided by the management of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region.

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 guilty verdict.