The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General have announced the dismantling of a network of money-laundering centres through which, according to the investigation, 23.5 billion hryvnias have passed since 2023. Law enforcement officers carried out 50 searches in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa and served notices of suspicion on those involved in the scheme. The investigation is ongoing.
Briefly about the main points
- According to the investigation, 23.5 billion hryvnias passed through the network.
- The estimated monthly transaction volume amounted to nearly 500 million hryvnias.
- The potential tax evasion is provisionally estimated at 3 billion hryvnias.
- Border guards and the Cyber Police were called in to assist with the searches.
- Details about the organisers and evidence are due to be released on 21 September.
Border guards and the Cyber Police have been called in to assist with the investigation
According to the information BEB, the operation was carried out simultaneously in three cities under the procedural supervision of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General. The State Border Service and the Cyber Police were involved in the investigative operations.
During the searches, law enforcement officers discovered and seized unreported cash amounting to millions of hryvnias. This sum does not correspond either to the declared turnover of funds through the network or to the preliminary estimate of potential tax evasion.
Investigators estimate the potential tax evasion at around 3 billion hryvnias
Director of the BEB Oleksandr Tsivinskyi He reported that the estimated monthly turnover via so-called «envelopes» amounted to almost 500 million hryvnias. According to preliminary estimates by the investigating authorities, the potential tax evasion in this case amounts to around 3 billion hryvnias.
This amount does not represent established losses or the final figure for tax losses. Law enforcement may be able to clarify this as part of a further investigation and analysis of financial transactions.
The BEB has promised to reveal the details of the case on 21 September
The Bureau has notified those involved in the scheme that they are under suspicion, but has not yet specified the particular sections of the Criminal Code or provided a full list of those implicated. The following day, the BEB and the OGP are due to release further details regarding the organisers, how the network operated and the evidence seized.
Currency exchange centres may be used to convert non-cash funds into cash and to create conditions for minimising or evading tax payments. At the same time, a notice of suspicion does not imply that guilt has been proven: the final legal assessment of the actions of those involved must be made by the court.
