Vitaliy Antonov's holding company, Universal Investment Group, and its constituent companies, Galnaftogaz and OKKO Group, have defrauded the state budget by several billion hryvnias.
All this is happening during a period of intensified fighting in Donbass, a lack of money for vaccines and the coronavirus crisis, reports 5 channel.
To evade taxes, the holding company uses so-called tax "rollbacks." These helped it avoid paying UAH 5,5 billion in taxes to the budget. Furthermore, the holding company received a UAH 360 million refund from the budget for "fake" VAT. The lion's share of the VAT was rolled back through OKKO fuel sales. "The OKKO Group of Companies is robbing the country of billions. And the tax inspectorate is covering up these corruption schemes. At a time when the war in the East continues unabated and dozens of young soldiers are dying. The pandemic is claiming the lives of thousands, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the seriously ill. The president repeatedly asks big business to help the state fight the coronavirus. But not all Ukrainian enterprises are willing to lend a helping hand in these difficult times; instead, they continue to mercilessly drain the treasury," the report states.
As Tax Committee Chairman Danylo Getmantsev explained, fuel is a convenient commodity for "rolling" because it can be linked to virtually any production process. A significant volume of VAT refund fraud occurs specifically in transactions involving fuel and/or grain. For example, OKKO-Retail specializes in fuel retail and also engages in wholesale and export of grain, dairy products, and other items. Through this atypical export, the company evades VAT. OKKO-Business Contract operates using a similar scheme. Both companies underpaid VAT in the amount of UAH 329,3 million and UAH 21,9 million, respectively. Overall, for the first nine months of 2020, OKKO Group underpaid UAH 200 million in VAT alone. According to economist Oleh Getman, VAT "rollers" typically evade income tax, conduct cash transactions, and pay salaries in envelopes.
At the same time, the State Fiscal Service cannot be unaware of the tax rigging taking place within Antonov's holding company, as it is the service that monitors the purchases and sales of each company using the specialized SMKOR software. Furthermore, media outlets previously reported that the head of the State Fiscal Service, Vadym Melnyk, was personally involved in the tax rigging of Galnaftogaz and OKKO. Channel 5 sent information requests to the State Fiscal Service and other regulatory agencies regarding the latest tax audit of the Universal Investment Group. A request has also been sent to Galnaftogaz.
On April 12, activists from the Stop Corruption organization held a protest outside the State Fiscal Service building in Kyiv to draw attention to the embezzlement of state funds during the pandemic, the coronavirus crisis, and the escalating tensions on the front lines. "Businesses, which are already earning billions in profits during these difficult times for the country, should instead be helping to maintain economic stability, are choosing to cynically and brazenly plunder Ukraine's treasury," the report stated.
Author of the article:
Oleg Boyko
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