Today, new details of the illegal activities of the EconomClass second-hand chain have become known. According to the investigation, the company organised a large-scale tax evasion scheme that resulted in the loss of about a million dollars to the Ukrainian budget.
Tax evasion scheme in the EconomClass network
According to law enforcement officers, the all-Ukrainian chain of second-hand EconomClass used an extensive network of 530 individual entrepreneurs to «split the business». This allowed the company to significantly reduce its tax burden and avoid paying a significant portion of taxes to the state budget. According to investigators, the Ukrainian budget lost about a million dollars due to such activities.
The organiser of the scheme is preliminarily identified as a citizen of Ukraine who has been living in China for a long time Mikhail Stanislavovich Gursky. According to the investigation, he owns the key company in the scheme, Ekonomklaszakhid LLC, and a number of other companies that were used to implement the illegal scheme.
Roles of participants in the EconomClass scheme
The company's director played a key role in building the principle of the second-hand chain's operation Maria Ilchuk. It helped to organise the operation of stores through controlled individual entrepreneurs, which allowed us to effectively manage the process of «business fragmentation».
IT specialist Anatolii Palii developed special software to control the sales process. The software ensured selective fiscalisation of transactions depending on customer behaviour, which made it difficult for regulatory authorities to detect violations. Chief Accountant Andriy Zozulevych was responsible for coordinating the movement of funds and controlling bank cards used in the network of individual entrepreneurs.
Law enforcement actions and further steps
The case is currently being investigated by detectives Bureau of Economic Security and operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police. An active investigation is underway, evidence is being collected and financial transactions related to the activities of the EconomClass network are being analysed. Law enforcement officers are focused on identifying the full range of persons involved in organising the tax evasion scheme.
As part of the investigation, a number of searches have already been carried out and documents confirming the use of controlled individual entrepreneurs for tax avoidance have been seized. Specialists are working to disclose all chains of financial flows to ensure compensation of losses to the state.
Why it matters
Exposing the likes schemes is of great importance for the Ukrainian economy, as tax evasion directly affects the financing of social programmes and infrastructure development. The large-scale tax evasion scheme in the EconomClass network indicates serious problems in business control and the need to increase liability for such violations.
