Suspicion of massive money laundering in leading pharmacy chains in Ukraine

Exposure of a massive fraud in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical sector

According to a report by the Telegram channel Україна Online: Новини | Політика (known for its comprehensive political and criminal coverage), the Pecherskyi District Court in Kyiv has ordered the freezing of bank accounts belonging to the Polish company SCIL TRADE and the Estonian company QUICK VENT OU. The companies are suspected of involvement in a money laundering case estimated at 2 billion hryvnia.

It is suspected that the chains used a "2 billion scheme" that involved the payment of fictitious royalties for patents and "useful models" in the field of disinfection, which were not actually in use. Investigators claim that over 180 pharmacy chains and pharmaceutical companies transferred funds through these methods to evade taxes. Among the chains whose names have come up in the investigation are "Подорожник" (Podorozhnyk), "Аптека Доброго Дня" (Apteka Dobroho Dnya), "АНЦ" (ANC), "Біокон" (Biokon), and "Перша фармація" (Persha Farmatsiya).

The channel Україна⚡️Новини⚡️Війна also confirmed the details and noted that the investigation estimates the amount of unpaid taxes resulting from this fraud at approximately 361 million hryvnia. As cited in Україна Online, this is a significant move by the law enforcement system against major operators in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market.