Structures associated with the Verkhovna Rada's Administration Department received more than 420 million hryvnias from Ukraine's budget as VAT reimbursement for oil exports. This was stated by Svitlana Zvarych, vice-president of the company "Oil Transit" and wife of Justice Minister Roman Zvarych, reports "Trybuna".
In a statement sent to the SBU, MVS, GPU and DPAU, as well as to People's Deputy Ihor Yeremeyev, Svitlana Zvarych claims that she became aware of information about the activity of an enterprise engaged in oil exports from the "Galychyna" refining combine under the auspices of the Verkhovna Rada's Administration Department.
According to Zvarych, from July 2003 to February 2004, VAT "NPK "Galychyna" leased production facilities for the manufacture of petroleum products to the State Subsidiary Enterprise (DDP) "Business Cooperation". This enterprise was created by the State Enterprise "Business Cooperation and Services" in accordance with an Order of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's Administration Department for the purpose of creating proper material-technical and economic conditions for the Verkhovna Rada's Administration Department.
DDP "Business Cooperation" was registered in a district of Zhytomyr Oblast included in the Chornobyl zone, and was therefore exempt from taxation.
According to Zvarych's statement, DDP "Business Cooperation" conducted active foreign economic activity, exporting abroad large quantities of petroleum products produced by VAT "NPK "Galychyna". The result of the activity of the enterprise "Business Cooperation" was the right to VAT reimbursement from the state budget in the amount of 331,128,000 hryvnias as of April 1, 2004, the statement by Svitlana Zvarych notes.
In April 2004, DDP "Business Cooperation" was reorganized into the Limited Liability Company "Effective Cooperation". At the same time, Zvarych claims, ownership of all assets of the State Enterprise passed to two citizens - O. Proskuryakov and O. Kotsiubko for 100 hryvnias. Each of the said citizens paid 50 hryvnias for their respective 50-percent share.
According to Zvarych, the successor of DDP "Business Cooperation" - LLC "Effective Cooperation" - also received the right to VAT reimbursement from the state budget in the amount of 283,724,898 hryvnias (part of the VAT had already been reimbursed at the time of reorganization). That is, two citizens of Ukraine, having paid 50 hryvnias each, received the right to demand more than 283 million hryvnias from the state budget, noted Svitlana Zvarych.
According to her data, LLC "Effective Cooperation", created on the basis of the Verkhovna Rada's state enterprise, in March-May 2004 alone "pulled from the budget" more than 102,000,000 hryvnias as VAT reimbursement. In total, through LLC "Effective Cooperation" and DDP "Business Cooperation", more than 420 million hryvnias were received from Ukraine's budget, the statement claims.
Svitlana Zvarych asked law enforcement officers to establish whether Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn was involved in the said activity, since it is he, as head of the Verkhovna Rada, who bears responsibility for the proper material-technical conditions of the entire infrastructure of parliament.
Zvarych is also interested in what funds, in what quantities and by which firms oil was supplied to VAT "NPK "Galychyna" for processing by the production facilities leased by DDP "Business Cooperation". The Justice Minister's wife is also interested in whether such activity of the Verkhovna Rada's Administration Department and its state and subsidiary enterprises is lawful.
As is known, the activity of LLC "NPK "Galychyna" is controlled by People's Deputy Ihor Yeremeyev, with whom Svitlana Zvarych, as vice-president of the company "Oil Transit", had a high-profile conflict over the issue of oil re-export. Yeremeyev, in particular, accused the company "Oil Transit" of attempts to illegally obtain VAT from the state budget. Zvarych, calling these claims groundless, in turn accused the "Galychyna" combine of illegally obtaining VAT.