SBU eliminates corruption embezzlement scheme in export of grain
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), has exposed a criminal scheme for embezzling funds from the export of Ukrainian grain.
"More than 10 officials were involved in the deal. Among them are the deputy head of one of the departments of the State Customs Service and the leadership of the Odesa customs office. They established a large-scale mechanism for tax evasion for the export of Ukrainian grain. Therefore, the state received hundreds of millions of hryvnias less," SBU reported in its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
According to the SBU, to implement the scheme, its participants involved more than 370 commercial structures with signs of fictitiousness. Through them, wheat was massively bought from private farmers, agricultural enterprises and large agro-industrial holdings.
"In order to "confuse" trade chains and avoid paying mandatory payments to the budget, businessmen transferred products from one lining company to another. And only after that they sold grain to exporters for sale abroad," the SBU said.
According to investigators, BES employees recorded in advance the facts of the use of risky enterprises in export procedures and warned the State Customs Service about this in writing. However, as noted in the report, customs officials did not take into account the relevant comments and allowed the sale of more than 1 million tonnes of grain products abroad.
It was established that this wheat was exported through the capacities of grain terminals in Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny ports.
During 30 searches in the administrative premises of the central office of the State Customs Service in the ports and at the place of residence of the defendants, law enforcement officers found draft records, documents in electronic form, mobile phones with evidence of an illegal transaction. As part of the criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the issue of notifying defendants of suspicion and choosing a custody status for them is being resolved.
