Major exposure in Ukraine: a large tobacco company is suspected of tax evasion totaling 2.3 billion hryvnias
[96170] Major exposure in Ukraine: a large tobacco company is suspected of tax evasion totaling 2.3 billion hryvnias
The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine has uncovered a large-scale tax fraud by a major cigarette manufacturer, involving smuggling and revenue evasion worth billions of hryvnias.
Major exposure of tax fraud in the Ukrainian tobacco industry
Law enforcement authorities in Ukraine reported today the dismantling of a large-scale criminal infrastructure in the tobacco sector. According to reports by ТСН новини / ТСН.ua, Оперативний ЗСУ and Новини Еспресо.TV, a major cigarette manufacturer operating in the Rivne region is suspected of tax evasion totaling over 2.3 billion hryvnias.
According to the findings of the Economic Security Bureau (ESBU) investigation, the company's management carried out a sophisticated fraud between 2023 and 2024. As published on Новини.LIVE, those involved "instrumentalized" the disappearance of approximately 1,186 tons of tobacco raw materials, which were actually diverted to the production of "shadow" cigarettes without reporting, without paying excise taxes, and using counterfeit stamps.
UA Stream notes that beyond tax evasion, there is evidence indicating that the company was also engaged in "smuggling tobacco products to European Union countries." This conduct led to heavy losses to the state treasury.
Following the exposure of the case, the authorities acted decisively against the company. The manufacturer's license was revoked, its operations were halted immediately, and the company's manager was notified of suspected criminal offenses. All reporting sources, identified with a pro-Ukrainian and state-aligned line, emphasized the severity of the damage to the state budget during wartime.