Customs inspectors have prevented an attempt to export 1.5 thousand tons of Ukrainian wheat worth UAH 9.2 million to Italy without a license using falsified documents, the press service of the State Customs Service (SCS) reported on Telegram.
“At the Mukachevo customs post, customs declarations for the export of domestic wheat (not for sowing) were submitted for customs clearance. The total weight of the goods was indicated as more than 1.5 thousand tons worth UAH 9.2 million. The seller of the goods was a Kharkiv-based company,” the statement said.
According to the State Customs Service, customs officers noticed that the goods were not licensed for export. During the inspection, it turned out that the director of the Kharkiv company resorted to tricks to circumvent the licensing of agricultural exports, and in the shipping documents he indicated an Italian company as the recipient of the goods. The export of wheat to Italy, unlike other EU countries, is not subject to licensing.
The foreign company responded to the State Customs Service’s request and denied the information about the purchase of Ukrainian wheat in a letter. For its part, the Italian customs also officially confirmed that there are no declarations in their database related to the Italian company that bought the goods.
“Two reports on violation of customs regulations under Part 1 of Article 483 of the Customs Code of Ukraine were drawn up against the head of the Kharkiv company for submitting documents containing false information about the recipient of the goods. The sanction of the article provides not only for the imposition of a fine in the amount of 50 to 100% of the value of the offense items, but also for their possible confiscation,” the State Customs Service emphasized.
Detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) are investigating the fact of tax evasion of more than UAH 1 billion by a well-known organizer of online gambling, the bureau said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The investigation has established that the company paid out UAH 4.5 billion in winnings to players, of which it failed to pay personal income tax and military duty totaling UAH 1.1 billion. These payments were recorded not as winnings, but as refunds, i.e. deposits, to individuals that were allegedly not used in gambling,” law enforcement officials say.
The BES does not disclose the name of the gambling organizer, but according to Interfax-Ukraine, it is the Cosmolot online casino, whose co-owner Arnulf Damerau recently told the Financial Times that allegedly corrupt officials in Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies and the presidential administration are trying to extort tens of millions of euros from him.
The BES adds that more than 5 million banking transactions are being analyzed, and the amount of damage caused to the state is confirmed, among other things, by the materials of the documentary audit of the State Tax Service.
“To ensure a comprehensive and complete investigation, detectives have already questioned the company’s employees, players and counterparties, conducted searches, sent numerous requests to banking and other institutions, and received a number of rulings on temporary access to things and documents,” the statement said.
According to the statement, as part of the criminal proceedings, the bank accounts of the company, which is still operating today, were seized, but the court ruling allowed it to make all necessary payments to the budget and pay wages.
“At the same time, at the time of the announcement of one of the rulings, the company’s officials transferred 100 million to the accounts of a counterparty, and these funds were subsequently arrested,” the release said.
The BES also states that the company’s officials have been obstructing the detectives in every possible way during the investigation, in particular, they have ignored the investigating judge’s decision to grant temporary access to documents, refused to provide information during interrogations, and concealed primary business documents.
“The pre-trial investigation is currently ongoing. The BES detectives continue to collect evidence that will be used both for forensic economic examination to confirm the amount of damage caused to the budget of Ukraine and to prove illegal activities,” the law enforcement officers said in a statement.
Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with major assets in Ukraine, produced 3.814 million tonnes of pellets in January-March this year, up twice year-on-year (0.901 million tonnes) and 2.9 times more than in the previous quarter (0.627 million tonnes).
“Our operations delivered exceptional results in the first quarter, with total production up 203% quarter-on-quarter to over two million tonnes of iron ore pellets and concentrate. This is our best quarterly result since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Executive Chairman Lucio Genovese said in a release on Tuesday.
It is specified that the total production of commercial products (pellets and iron ore concentrate) in the first quarter of this year amounted to 2.054 million tons, which is 2.1 times higher than in the first quarter of 2023 and 3 times higher than in the previous quarter. In particular, the production of saleable concentrate in January-March 2024 amounted to 241 thousand tons, compared to 53 thousand tons in January-March 2023 and 50 thousand tons in October-December 2023.
Genovese noted that Ferrexpo was able to export products from Ukrainian ports again during the quarter, which allowed it to supply larger volumes to Europe and resume sales to customers in the Middle East and North Africa and Asia.
According to him, the company is currently seeing an increase in the conscription of its employees: 669 Ferrexpo employees are serving in the army, which is the highest figure since the start of the full-scale invasion, while 67 employees have returned and a veterans’ reintegration program is underway.
“While we consider the level of risk acceptable given the ongoing war in Ukraine, we will continue to utilize all available export capacity to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are supported,” Genovese concluded.
The Group also successfully operated two and sometimes three pelletizing lines (out of four) during the quarter, changing product quality depending on customer demand and expanding logistics capabilities.
Total sales for the quarter amounted to 1.992 million tons, producing only pellets with an iron content of 65%.
As reported, Ferrexpo produced 3.845 million tons of pellets in 2023, down 36.5% from 2022.
Ferrexpo owns a 100% stake in Yeristovo Mining, 99.9% in Bilanivsky GOK and 100% in Poltava Mining.
The company ended 2023 with a net loss of $84.8 million compared to a net profit of $220.0 million in 2022. Revenue for 2023 fell by 47.8% to $651.8 million, and EBITDA by 83% to $130.2 million.
On April 22, Ukraine State Aviation Enterprise (Boryspil, Kyiv region) announced a tender for insurance of the liability of the operator of a commercial civil aircraft for damage caused to third parties and the liability of the air carrier for damage caused to passengers and baggage; aircraft insurance.
According to a posting in the Prozorro electronic public procurement system, the tender was announced for insurance of aircraft crew members, other aviation personnel and persons who have the right to be on board the aircraft legally without purchasing tickets.
The expected value of the insurance procurement is UAH 26.674 million.
The amount of the contract performance security is 5% of the value of the procurement contract, in monetary terms, in UAH.
The deadline for submitting bids is April 30.
Ukraine State Aviation Enterprise was established to organize, provide and perform special air transportation of high-ranking official delegations of Ukraine and other states within the country and abroad in compliance with the requirements and rules set forth in the relevant regulatory documents.
Aviation Enterprise, BUDGET, risk insurance, TENDER, UKRAINE
Olena Pokolodna has increased her stake in Dolphin Insurance Company (Kharkiv) from 0.7% to 99.3%.
This is reported in the company’s information posted in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
It is noted that the acquisition took place by way of inheritance on the basis of a certificate of inheritance in connection with the death of a shareholder who owned 98.6% of the company’s shares.
PrJSC IC Dolphin was registered on March 21, 2011.
The State Customs Service of Ukraine has granted the status of an authorized economic operator of the type “on confirmation of safety and reliability” (AEO-B) to SCF Ukraine PJSC (Lutsk).
“SCF Ukraine became the second enterprise in Ukraine to receive AEO-B authorization. Each enterprise that prepares and successfully passes the assessment of compliance with the AEO authorization of the type “on confirmation of safety and reliability” is a step towards the possibility of Ukraine’s conclusion of mutual recognition agreements, in particular with the European Union,” the service said in a publication in its Telegram channel on Monday.
The State Customs Service stressed that the authorization of AEO type “on confirmation of safety and reliability” gives enterprises the right to enjoy exclusive advantages. Among them – prior notification of customs inspection at the checkpoint, priority fulfillment of customs formalities, special traffic lane at the checkpoint, reduction of risk by the automated customs clearance system, use of the national AEO logo.
In contrast to enterprises that have received the more common AEO authorization of the type “on granting the right to apply simplifications” (AEO-C), enterprises with AEO-B authorization will be able to receive benefits on the basis of international agreements on mutual determination in other countries.
The agency recalled that the AEO-C authorization gives enterprises the right to receive simplifications, including transit simplifications, in particular, regarding the procedure of release by location, independent application of special type of seals, general guarantee and “authorized shipper”.
According to the published information, as of today 36 enterprises in Ukraine have received 38 AEO authorizations: 36 AEO-C and 2 AEO-B. One company can get both statuses at will.
The SKF Ukraine plant in Lutsk, controlled by Sweden’s SKF, produces roller and needle bearings and wheel units for heavy-duty/commercial vehicles.
