Case description
The NABU and the SAPO accuse former SFS official Liudmyla Solotva of aiding and abetting the scandalous former SFS Chairman Roman Nasirov when he unreasonably extended rent payments to companies of former MP Onyshchenko.
According to the prosecution, Liudmyla Solotva, who was the head of the department at the State Fiscal Service, helped Nasirov make unreasonable decisions regarding companies controlled by Onyshchenko. This refers to the former MP's “gas scheme,” in which Nasirov allegedly deferred rent payments for the use of subsoil.
As a result, the budget lost about UAH 2 billion. According to the NABU, Onyshchenko's scheme involved selling Ukrgasvydobuvannya's gas to controlled companies on fictitious exchanges at reduced prices. Read more about this case here.
According to the investigation, since 2014, Liudmyla Solotva held the position of Head of the Department for Debt Settlement and Deferral of Payment Deadlines within the Debt Repayment Department of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. The actions of Onyshchenko’s criminal organization resulted in part of the profits being diverted to benefit its members, prevented the proper payment of deferred rental obligations, and led to the accumulation of tax debt by the relevant payers.
Following the appointment of Roman Nasirov as Head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, Onyshchenko involved him in the commission of the crime. The objective was personal enrichment and further evasion by companies under Onyshchenko’s control of the actual payment of deferred financial obligations and rental tax debt. Nasirov then brought Liudmyla Solotva into the scheme.
Acting on Nasirov’s unlawful instructions, Solotva, both directly and through a subordinate, issued unlawful directives to the heads of the Main Offices of the State Fiscal Service in Kharkiv, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. She communicated a step-by-step algorithm for preparing exclusively positive opinions on the feasibility of granting deferrals to Firm Khas LLC, Karpatnadrainvest LLC, and Nadra Heocenter LLC. These conclusions were to be forwarded to the State Fiscal Service.
Solotva personally coordinated the actions of debt recovery staff in the regional State Fiscal Service offices of Kharkiv, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. This coordination concerned the preparation of favorable opinions and the execution of deferral agreements based on decisions signed by Nasirov.
Members of the criminal organization repeatedly submitted applications to tax authorities requesting the deferral of financial obligations and rental tax debt. These applications contained standard and false information alleging the existence of grounds for deferral, including claims of a supposed risk of insolvency (bankruptcy), although such circumstances did not actually exist.
From May to December 2015 and January to March 2016, Nasirov, acting in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, made decisions to grant deferrals of financial obligations and tax debts. Solotva prepared the official cover letters by which Nasirov’s clearly unlawful deferral decisions were sent to the territorial bodies of the State Fiscal Service.
Liudmyla Solotva is charged as an accomplice under Article 364(2) and Article 366(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
