UAH 26.6 million in fictitious expenses: ESBU exposes tax scheme in the Odesa perfume business

 An enterprise specializing in the wholesale trade of perfumes and cosmetics has fully reimbursed the damages caused to the state in a tax evasion case. The pre-trial investigation was completed by detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region.

The basis for entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations was the analytical products of the Information Analysis and Risk Management Department of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the  Odesa region.

It was established that the company's officials artificially inflated the company's expenses by UAH 26.6 million. As a result, it appeared that the company's income was lower, and therefore, the corporate income tax was also lower. Consequently, nearly UAH 4.9 million was not paid to the state budget.

The director of the company was notified of suspicion for committing a crime under Part 1, Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the intentional evasion of taxes. The indictment has been sent to court.

During the pre-trial investigation, the enterprise fully reimbursed the state for the damages caused, amounting to nearly UAH 4.9 million, and also directed half a million toward the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

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

Please note 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 process and established by a court verdict.