By KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv chose a preventive measure for the board chairman of PJSC Poltava Mining, part of the Ferrexpo group, in the form of bail of almost UAH 800 million.
According to a press release from the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) of Ukraine on Tuesday, the board chairman of Poltava Mining (Viktor Lotos) is suspected of large-scale tax evasion and falsification of official records.
At the same time, Poltava Mining is part of the Ferrexpo group, and the ultimate beneficial owner of a substantial share of Ferrexpo is Kostiantyn Zhevaho.
It was established that in the period from 2018 to 2021, the board chairman of Poltava Mining, in a preliminary conspiracy with accountants, reflected in the enterprise’s tax returns the volume and cost of marketable products in the form of crushed ore, that is, without the beneficiation process, which significantly affects the cost of royalty payments. Thus, the payment of funds to the budget for the use of the subsoil of the iron ore deposit was underestimated by almost UAH 2.2 billion.
Currently, the board chairman of Poltava Mining has been given a preventive measure in the form of cash bail. The pretrial investigation continues. Procedural management is carried out by prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General. Operational support is provided by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until his guilt is proven legally and established by a court conviction.
