Ex-manager Severstal in the United States accused of tax evasion

The former head of the American unit of the Russian company Severstal Viktor Lipukhin hid revenues from the American government, keeping money in offshore accounts, the Ministry of Justice reports. He faces many years of imprisonment.

According to the US Department of Justice, the federal jury in Missouri put forward the charge against him on Friday. "Lipukhin, who is a citizen of Russia and in the past, legally had a residence permit in the United States, kept from 4 to 7.5 million dollars in the period of 2002-2007 in two accounts of the Swiss Bank UBS," the Ministry of Justice of ITAR-TASS quoted. His message says that in 2002, a Russian "together with a partner whose name is not disclosed, they opened an account for the Old Orchard post -decommissioning company." A year later, Lipukhin became the only owner of the account.

Another account was registered with another shell company - Lone Star. The Ministry of Justice added that "almost all transactions on these two accounts Lipukhin carried out with the help of a Bahamian citizen who was listed as the nominal director of both companies." "However, in his tax returns, he did not report these accounts and income received through them," the agency said in a statement.

Ex-head of Severstal Inc. Lipukhin "tried to hide involvement in these accounts using fictitious embedded real estate in the United States." Thus, he acquired a "historical building" in the city of St. Chalz (Illinois), where, according to the ministry, he lived from 2001 to mid-2007.

According to the Ministry of Justice, if guilty of Lipukhin, he is recognized, threatens three years in prison for each point of the prosecution.