Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced the exposure of a money laundering and tax minimization scheme involving 10 pharmacy chains. Over UAH 2 billion was funneled into the shadows through fictitious patents and royalties.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko announced the exposure and termination of a long-standing scheme of money laundering and minimization of tax liabilities by pharmacy chains. According to him, about 10 pharmacy chains, covering 183 enterprises across the country, were involved in the scheme, UNN reports.
The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office, together with the State Tax Service, exposed and terminated a long-standing scheme of money laundering and minimization of tax liabilities by pharmacy chains. Its organizer created a foreign representative office in Ukraine back in 2021, which registered patents for premises disinfection and pest control using ultrasonic radiation.
– the Prosecutor General reported.
According to him, in 2022–2025, about 10 pharmacy chains, covering 183 enterprises across the country, were involved in the scheme.
The mechanism was simple and cynical: enterprises artificially understated income tax by transferring funds as "royalties" for the use of these patents, i.e., for the use of instructions for disinfecting pharmacy premises in a non-existent way, the essence of which has no economic meaning, volume, or real fact of economic operations.
– Kravchenko reported.
To legalize these operations, according to the Prosecutor General, the organizer:
• involved controlled individuals;
• appointed loyal director and chief accountant;
• concluded fictitious license agreements and signed acts of "rendered services", knowing for sure that no services existed.
As a result of the pre-trial investigation and tax audits, it was established that over 2 billion hryvnias were laundered in 2022–2025.
The director and chief accountant of the controlled structures were notified of suspicion of official forgery. They provided incriminating testimony. The organizer of the scheme was notified of suspicion of official forgery and legalization of criminally obtained proceeds. Measures are being taken to establish his whereabouts and choose a preventive measure in the form of detention. Fictitious patents, "creative" royalties, and multi-level schemes do not exempt from responsibility. We continue to work.
– Kravchenko summarized.
