The St. Petersburg headquarters revealed the details of the criminal case, within the framework of which more than 70 searches were carried out throughout the city today.

Photo: RBC

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, we are talking about the theft of hundreds of millions of rubles through VAT refunds. The searches took place in the suspects' places of residence, in office premises, as well as in tax authorities.

According to investigators, an organized crime group consisting of various structural units was operating in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region for several years and was engaged in illegal VAT refunds. According to investigators, a total of 28 people worked in the gang, each of whom performed specific duties. For example, members of the accounting group were engaged in the preparation and signing of false documents, advising “nominee” managers on issues of behavior in the tax authorities, preparing and submitting the necessary reports, declarations, balance sheets, as well as documents on desk tax audits.

In most cases, members of the group used a tax refund scheme when moving goods across the border of the Russian Federation in the export mode, as well as when carrying out real estate transactions, organizing the transfer of ownership of the same real estate between legal entities controlled by them.

According to preliminary data, the organized crime group was headed by a 49-year-old former tax police officer. He is suspected of personally developing schemes for illegal tax refunds, coordinating the actions of structural divisions, and also distributing income among members of the organized crime group, using his corrupt connections in the tax authorities. The press service of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg named his name - Igor Kornienko.

In addition, tax officials are suspected of involvement in the activities of organized criminal groups; according to preliminary information, they advised members of the criminal community on the advisability of using certain tax refund schemes and informed group members about the expression of interest from law enforcement agencies.

Currently, the involvement of organized crime group members in 47 episodes of illegal VAT refunds from the Russian budget for a total amount of at least 300 million rubles using more than 50 controlled organizations has been established.

Roman Kizyma

Tax scam in St. Petersburg: 50 episodes, 28 suspects and 70 searches