NABU and SAPO announced suspicion of Nasirov’s father-in-law

NABU and SAPO announced suspicion of Nasirov’s father-in-law

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office served suspicion notices to a close associate of former SFS head Roman Nasirov and his advisor, father-in-law Oleksandr Hlimbovskyi.

NABU detectives exposed a scheme to legalize part of the illegal benefits that the chairman of the State Fiscal Service received in his own favor and in favor of third parties during 2015-2016. We are talking about a record bribe in the amount of more than 722 million UAH, which was provided for actions related to ensuring a VAT refund to legal entities controlled by the owner of the agricultural holding in the amount of more than 3.2 billion UAH. Currently, suspicion has been reported to two persons, including a person close to the ex-chairman of the State Fiscal Service (his actions are classified as crimes under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 368, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code) and his adviser (part 3 art.

According to the investigation, Nasirov’s father-in-law Hlimbovsky helped to legalise €13 million in illegal benefits that the prosecution believes the former head of the SFS received from oligarch Oleg Bakhmatyuk for an extraordinary VAT refund to his companies. Hlimbovskyi allegedly legalised the entire amount of the bribe and spent it on the purchase of an unfinished residential and office complex with a car park in the centre of Kyiv, Metropol. The complex continued to be built and received additional income, in particular in 2022-2023.

At the end of 2023, the NABU and the SAPO seized 81 properties and over UAH 30 million, which the owner of the construction company group acquired with the legalised funds.

The other part of the illegal benefit in the amount of EUR 7.9 million, which was kept on the accounts of another controlled offshore company, was legalised by Nasirov’s adviser. He laundered $5.5 million by concluding an agency agreement in January 2017. And in April-August 2018, he laundered another EUR 2.8 million as payment under sale and purchase agreements.

Measures are being taken to establish the circumstances of the legalisation of the last part of the $5.5 million in illegal benefit and the persons involved.

As a reminder, the NABU and the SAPO served a notice of suspicion to former SFS Head Roman Nasirov of receiving over UAH 722 million in unlawful benefit. Oligarch Oleh Bakhmatyuk was also served with a notice of suspicion of receiving the benefit, but in absentia.

The investigation found that the chairman of the State Fiscal Service (2015-2016) received an improper benefit for ensuring the reimbursement of more than 540 million UAH to agroholding companies in August 2015 and more than 21 million euros for the reimbursement of almost 2.7 billion VAT during February 2015 - August 2016. Nasirov received the "services", which, on average, amounted to about 20% of the amount of VAT refunded, on the account of a foreign company controlled by him, as well as a company controlled by his father-in-law and his adviser, through another foreign "spacer" company engaged by the ex-officer’s adviser. The NABU and SAP found that the sender of the funds was a non-resident company controlled by the owner of the agricultural holding Bakhmatyuk.

At the same time, part of the unlawful benefit was formed directly from the budget VAT refund and converted into foreign currency. The NABU and SAP have evidence that the chairman of the State Fiscal Service prioritised VAT refund payments to agroholding companies without including information about the amounts claimed for budget refund by other business entities (including utilities) that were entitled to it. This, in turn, led to lawsuits by such companies and their recovery of at least UAH 2 million in penalties from the state budget, in addition to the claimed amounts of budget reimbursement.