Despite the public's desire for change, some officials, unwilling to recognize the rule of law over their personal "commercial" goals, resort to banal corporate raiding in order to bankrupt those enterprises that do not agree to illegally enrich corrupt officials, reports ORD.
Taking advantage of the difficult situation in eastern Ukraine, which is consuming the entire attention of the country's leadership, officials from the Ministry of Revenue and Duties in the Kherson region continue to use corrupt practices developed under the previous government with impunity: "One man's war, another man's mother..." A number of private businesses in the city of Kherson are systematically subjected to illegal pressure from tax officials to extort taxes.
In these difficult times for the country, the scheme of "great leader" Vitaliy Oleksandrovych Lazarev has been thriving for four months now at the Kherson Oblast Department of the Ministry of Revenue and Duties. He is increasingly enforcing illegal schemes and driving the real sector of the economy into the shadow economy. This means that private businesses are once again returning to operating as "platforms," albeit on a smaller scale, within the Kherson Oblast.
The most active participant in this is the old-new team assembled by V.A. Lazarev. Every name is a big deal for Kherson, and sometimes even for the country.
Alexander Lupa is his closest aide, advisor, informant, and treasurer of all activities related to the collection of kickbacks, bribes, and other financial matters. He is an active organizer and coordinator of the existing "conversion centers," and is also involved in the sale of fictitious tax credits from agricultural enterprises. Oddly enough, almost all the agricultural workers work in Lupa's "fiefdom"—the Golopristansky district, namely:
Agro-Dab – code 36009081;
Gopra-Latifundia – code 38215640;
Donskoy – code 34781478;
Gemini – code 33965181;
Sergeevo – code 19226712.
The former deputy head of the Department of Internal Security of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Revenue and Duties in the Kherson region, who was summarily dismissed under the previous government for being so corrupt that even the "Donetsk thugs" couldn't stand such lawlessness. Ironically, this figure is now trying to portray himself as a victim of the regime and, moreover, to become head of the regional tax police.
Galina Tanan is a "legend" among regional entrepreneurs, especially those involved in the sale of tobacco and vodka products. Few have seen such extortions and kickbacks in this service. She's incompetent, greedy, and selfish, and understands nothing about tax audits, which she oversees. However, all audits are now strictly monitored, and business managers are politely required to undergo mandatory interviews before the audit is completed to agree on the amount of additional assessments and the kickback amount for a positive result. Under Tanan's auspices, so-called inspectors—cashiers—have been rampant along the Kherson coast all summer, levying taxes on anyone operating without documents and fleecing those with documents. Typically, such raids have occurred more than twice this season. And the introduced practice of quarterly inspections of entertainment establishments brings in a constant, stable income (according to our conservative estimates: 1-1,5 thousand hryvnias to the budget, and 3-4 thousand for personal, unforced enrichment).
Natalia Nevdakh is the Deputy Head of the State Tax Inspectorate of the Ministry of Revenue and Duties of the City of Kherson, overseeing tax audits. In terms of her knowledge and expertise, she's the complete opposite of her regional superior. Over the years, she's familiar with all the schemes and tricks, and therefore takes significantly larger kickbacks than her superior, and she's also adept at faking it so that no one will notice. On her orders, "inadequate" audit reports are written without any basis, naturally with clearly negative conclusions, and this applies to any entity that refuses to cooperate with Ms. Nevdakh. It's worth noting that this woman is involved in several high-profile criminal cases pending before the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, yet she continues to exploit her criminal talents by abusing her official position.
Mykola Sulimenko is a controversial figure, a direct relative of Mr. V.V. Bulyuk, the head of the Kherson customs office. Mykola possesses many remarkable qualities, which, even during the harsh and lawless times of the "Donetsk" regime, drove entrepreneurs in the Skadovsk-Chaplynsky region to a full-blown rebellion against him, even writing an open letter to the president. Afterwards, he was dismissed from his post. Incidentally, for unclear reasons, no criminal case was ever opened against Sulimenko, despite the overwhelming evidence. And now this same man has come to continue his vigorous activity in the Kakhovka district.
Particularly noteworthy is the long-standing operation of this "conversion center," which illegally cashes out funds to anyone willing. And for a mere fee of 0,5% of turnover, personally for Comrade Lazarev and his team:
Nefertum – code 39066451;
Dynasty T – code 34074075;
Metro-South – code 35329563;
Kherson-grain – code 34369736;
Ferrum-luxservice – code 36235775;
Trio - code 37542176;
Console - code 31220937;
Yug Transit Invest – code 38152209.
The results of four months of intensive work by "Timur and his team" were not long in coming. This group gained control of all financial business groups in the region—both agricultural enterprises in the real sector of the economy and fictitious entities trading in "air," as well as conversion groups, grain trading firms, and the excisable goods market. All audit and control work, as well as the reporting of all enterprises and entrepreneurs, were brought under their control.
Out of habit, on the initiative of Tanan G., a number of traders in counterfeit alcohol were partially suppressed for a fee, but in this area, Lazarev V.A. had a conflict of interest with the tax police unit, which is waging an all-out fight against the counterfeit market in the region, initiating criminal cases and confiscating large quantities of illegal goods.
The State Tax Inspectorate of the Ministry of Revenue and Duties of the city of Kherson has organized the implementation of a complete disregard for the law when issuing VAT payer certificates to newly registered business entities and only to those that are required to pay a one-time fee of 500 to 1000 US dollars.
The development of the Lazarev family's personal business in Skadovsk deserves special attention. A luxurious hotel and restaurant on the seashore (5 Kolkhoznaya Street, the "PARADIZ" hotel) came into the family's possession as a result of the illegal seizure and bankruptcy sale of the former FMU-5 dormitory for pennies, which resulted in the eviction of residents. Now this business is thriving without paying a penny into the budget; the staff work without official employment, receiving their wages in cash, and are simply thrown out if they object. V.A. Lazarev also took notice of the new multi-story residential building located on the KhBK district circle in Kherson, where he is a co-owner.
This is the essence of the man who, in exchange for his appointment as head of the regional Fiscal Service, took a "modest suitcase" of 300 US dollars, earned through backbreaking labor, to Kyiv. And the appointment is being assisted in every way by Ruban's real godmother, Natalia, who also happens to be the head of tax audit at the Ministry of Revenue and Duties of Ukraine.
In gratitude, the current head of the Kherson Oblast Fiscal Service, V. Lazarev, appointed a 28-year-old man with no work experience, the son of the already-in-waiting Ruban N., to the position of deputy head of the regional department for individuals. It's worth noting that, despite his youth, the newly appointed deputy drives a luxury Mercedes with a modest license plate—AA 0111 RM. This car belongs to his unemployed wife, Ya. M. Ruban-Nedelko.
Kherson entrepreneurs are no strangers to the extortion and abuses of these multi-skilled professionals, but the unfortunate reality of the current situation is the further deterioration of Ukraine's image in the international market due to such repressive and corrupt methods of pressure on enterprises that cooperate with global companies. This situation particularly highlights the vulnerability of private businesses and the impunity of some government officials, which continues to this day, particularly in the Kherson region, despite the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the country. Under these circumstances, any enterprise in the region risks becoming the target of "special attention" from regulatory authorities, and if it fails to comply, it may be forced into bankruptcy.
Today, our country is being renewed and cleansed of the filth that the previous authoritarian, corrupt, and incompetent government brought into our lives.
As we lay the foundation for our future, we are convinced that taxpayers must actively participate in this process. Therefore, first and foremost, the Ministry of Revenue and Duties of Ukraine must clean up its act and distance itself from the criminal activities of the current leadership, represented by V.A. Lazarev and his accomplices.
Irina Sadovaya
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