The National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA), acting on a request from law enforcement authorities, has found assets belonging to individuals involved in criminal proceedings initiated on the basis of large-scale laundering of proceeds from crime.

According to the investigation, a group of individuals used companies under their control to evade value-added tax. The tax reports reflected non-existent financial and economic transactions carried out through companies with signs of fictitiousness, which resulted in the actual non-receipt of over UAH 400 million to the State Budget. The funds obtained by criminal means were legalised through cash conversion schemes, as well as through the purchase of property and financial assets.

As a result, employees of ARMA’s Department of Digital Development, Asset Finding and Investigation carried out finding and tracing of property using access to national registers, databases, and analytical tools. The results revealed:

• 30 real estate properties
• 20 motor vehicles
• 10 land plots
• 20 weapons
• Shares in the authorised capital of companies worth over UAH 170 million
• UAH 29 million and approximately USD 430,000 in cash
• Securities worth over UAH 75 million

Pavlo Velykorechanin, Deputy Head of ARMA, noted:

“This case demonstrates the effectiveness of our mechanisms for finding and tracing the assets of individuals involved in criminal cases. ARMA is consistently strengthening its capacity to work with digital data to ensure the real Recovery of illegally acquired assets for the benefit of the country.”

Information about the found property has already been forwarded to law enforcement authorities for consideration of the imposition of seizure injunctions pursuant to rulings, with the possibility of subsequent transfer to ARMA for management.