Military logistics and fictitious documents: how Ukrnafta was defrauded of UAH 16 million
21 January 13:43
Prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General have filed an indictment against the director of a private company accused of embezzling funds from Ukrnafta, tax evasion, and official forgery. According to the investigation, the total amount of damage caused exceeds UAH 16 million, and the state lost almost UAH 10 million in VAT due to a tax scheme. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
How the scheme came about
The investigation established that in 2023, against the backdrop of a full-scale war, Ukrnafta’s management decided to move strategic reserves of petroleum products to safer storage locations. To this end, the company entered into an agreement with a private entity for transportation and forwarding services with temporary use of an access railway track.
According to law enforcement, the director of the private company took advantage of the war conditions and complex logistics to carry out the criminal scheme. He submitted to Ukrnafta reports of work performed with knowingly false information about the receipt and location of railcars with petroleum products.
Fictitious documents and real losses
In fact, the railcars listed in the reporting documents did not arrive at the access tracks and were not located within the railway station. Despite this, based on the fictitious reports, Ukrnafta transferred funds for services that were not provided.
According to the investigation, the amount of direct losses to the company exceeded UAH 16 million.
Tax component
Separately, law enforcement officers established that the defendant had organized a tax evasion scheme. To this end, he entered into contracts with fictitious companies that did not engage in any real economic activity. Such documents were used to artificially generate VAT tax credits.
As a result of these actions, tax liabilities were deliberately understated, and almost UAH 10 million in VAT was not paid to the State Budget of Ukraine.
Qualification and investigation
The actions of the director of a private company were classified as:
- Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation of another’s property on an especially large scale),
- Part 3 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (tax evasion on an especially large scale)
- and Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official forgery).
The pre-trial investigation was conducted by detectives from the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine.
Law enforcement officials emphasize that, in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court verdict.
