The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have exposed an alleged large-scale corruption scheme that aimed to seize grain from the State Food and Grain Corp. of Ukraine (SFGCU).
According to NABU’s website, the investigation established that, in 2021, the management of Ukraine’s national grain market operator, DPZKU, concluded four foreign economic contracts with a non-resident company for the supply of feed corn.
“Contrary to the terms of the contracts, which provided for 100% payment for the goods before the transfer of ownership, the original bills of lading for the cargo ended up with the buyer company. This allowed the ships to unload and dispose of the grain that had not been paid for,” NABU said. “To hide this fact and create a false impression of control over the property, copies of bills of lading with forged signatures and seals were left at the DPZKU.”
As a result of these alleged actions, the state corporation lost almost 106,000 tons of grain worth UAH776 million (US$17.8 million).
The organizers of the scheme legalized the funds received from the sale of stolen grain by moving them between banks to mix with legal income, as well as by purchasing raw materials and property for controlled enterprises, NABU alleges.
Notices of suspicion have been issued to the former chairman of the DPZKU board, the former director of the trading department of DPZKU, the director and ultimate beneficial owner of the foreign company involved, the trustee of the representative of the foreign company, and another accomplice to the alleged crime.
In March, in an unrelated case, the executive director of an animal feed manufacturer in Ukraine was charged with intentional tax evasion and official forgery of documents, according to the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine (ESBU). Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Poltava region alleged the official organized a scheme to simulate business transactions with five economic entities. ESBU said these fictitious operations were reflected in the company’s accounting records and tax reports for more than a year. Deliberately false documents were submitted to the regulatory authorities. The enterprise evaded taxes totaling more than UAH4.8 million (US$109,000).
