Law enforcement finds ‘Christmas Wishlist’ of Kyiv taxman
Some of the official's wishes came true (Photo:SBI)
A series of New Year “wish lists” full of luxury items was found during a search of the acting head of Kyiv tax service, who is suspected of corruption, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) reported on Feb. 1.
In 2018, she wished for a promotion, a sable coat, a trip to London, and a luxury watch, while in 2021 she wished for another London holiday, vacation in the Maldives, $1 million, and to become Kyiv’s chief tax officer.
The latter came through, although her career as a state official has ended abruptly, given pending criminal corruption and abuse of power charges.
With the help of her trustees, she deliberately inflated costs of some contracts, conducted business illegally, and provided false information about income, which resulted in about UAH 15 million ($406,200) in undisclosed turnover.
“Another case of illegal VAT compensation by the senior officials of Kyiv tax services was discovered, which resulted in about UAH 30 million ($812,400) in shadow turnover. The tax officials ‘do not notice’ these schemes, support their existence or are directly involved in them, and are being systematically paid for their ‘services,” DBR said.
Law enforcement also noted that her assets hardly correspond to her declared income.
In particular, she owns three apartments in Kyiv totaling about $1 million in value, a house just outside the capital worth $200,000, and two cars with an estimated value of $150,000, each.
"The woman wears expensive jewelry, expensive branded clothing, a gold watch, and other luxury items. The total amount of identified unjustified assets is about $ 1.4 million", the bureau added.
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