Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said that the scam of funds embezzlement and tax evasion by some enterprises incorporated in Group DF of businessman Dmytro Firtash using the Ukrainian insurance market has been revealed.

"In 2015-2017, members of the organized criminal group organized some shell companies and affiliated insurance companies aiming at embezzlement of funds and evade paying taxes by some enterprises… part of Group DF of Dmytro Firtash. The above-mentioned enterprises and insurance companies private joint-stock company Salamandra-Ukraine and private joint-stock company DIM Insurance signed the insurance agreements under which fake insurance premiums were paid to the insurers. Definitely unnecessary insurance events were insured, which would never take place, and members of the criminal group knew about it," the PGO said.

The PGO said that these enterprises are private joint-stock company Severodonetsk Azot, Mizhrichynsky Mining LLC, private joint-stock company Ukrainian Chemical Products, public joint-stock company Rivneazot, complex Khimik, public joint-stock company Azot and other enterprises of the group.

"In the future, the funds were embezzled by insuring fictitious credit contracts and purchase and sale agreements for junk securities of other fictitious enterprises and dummy individuals controlled by the aforementioned individuals. The insurance companies insured risks in case of non-repayment of loans issued by the financial company to shell enterprises and front parties. These loans were not planned for return, and the members of the criminal group knew about it. After the non-return of these loans, insurance companies made full recovery of these fictitious risks to the financial company with the subsequent withdrawal of cash from banking institutions," the PGO said.

According to the report, the cash received as a result of criminal activity was injected to enterprises of the real economic sector.

The department of investigation of important cases in the economy sector of the PGO with the operational support of the department of economic protection of the National Police are conducting pretrial investigation into the facts of fictitious entrepreneurship, as well as illegal financial transactions for the purpose of legalizing funds in a particularly large amount under Part 2, Article 205 and Part 2, Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"Currently, authorized searches are carried out in the office premises and places of residence of persons involved in committing the crime," the PGO reported on Tuesday.