The security forces once again block the activities of the largest taxpayer in the Sumy region - they say there is pressure on business

Loss of sales markets, expensive loans, mobilization of workers, shortage of energy resources - the biggest problems during the war for the Ukrainian business, which has learned to survive even under such circumstances. However, entrepreneurial activity can be blocked by the prosecutor’s office. This happened with the Sumy enterprise Shervul, which, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, has partially redesigned production and is sewing special uniforms for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard. The manufacturer opened production allegedly due to non-payment of taxes. The company called such actions pressure on business. This is stated in the investigation of “Stopkor”.

“Let the special services sort out this situation. We are suppliers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard. Maybe Russian agents or spies are doing this? - says in a comment to “Stopkor” Deputy Director of Shervul LLC Evgeny Ovsienko.

The activity of the enterprise, which is the largest taxpayer in the Sumy region and actually forms the regional and local budgets, was blocked by the Prosecutor General’s Office. The basis was 100 million hryvnia, which the company received on its corporate accounts from the state budget as a tax refund.

“The pressure started back in November-December 2021. A friend of mine called me and said that due to the VAT refund for a large amount, we will have problems if we don’t solve this issue,” Ovsienko says. The top manager of Shervul emphasized that he was working in accordance with the law and would not “solve” anything. According to him, they are unreasonably trying to “tie” the company to the case, which since 2020-2021 was conducted in Kyiv by the Prosecutor General’s Office together with the National Police. Conversion centers and firms engaged in fraud with cashing out appeared in the production. Sherwool was not associated with any of them.

However, on December 22 last year, the Pechersky District Court received a petition to seize the firm’s property in the September 29 criminal proceedings. The initiator of the presentation was the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General’s Office Igor Cherny. In January 2023, all the company’s accounts were arrested based on the decision of the investigating judge of the Pechersky District Court of Kiev at the initiative of the prosecutor Chernoy.

“This surname has been known to us for quite a long time, because in 2019, on the proposal of the said prosecutor, we were actually raiderly seized. Because all accounts were blocked, including the accounts from which wages were paid to all employees, taxes were paid … I emphasize that the scheme is not isolated. It works in favor of the pockets of some not entirely honest prosecutors. Everything is clear here. First, the activity of the enterprise is blocked, and then they try, let’s say, to “solve” this issue and offer not quite legal methods,” - speaks Shervul’s lawyer Yevgeny Strashok.

The actions of law enforcement officers who started proceedings against the company are nothing more than targeted pressure on the business, the company’s lawyer believes.

“Having studied the materials that were received during the consideration of the petition, we found out that the only evidence of our company’s involvement in alleged tax evasion is the report of a direct employee of strategic investigations (Black. - Auth.), where he notes his assumptions. As for the evidence, we did not find any objective evidence in the case file,” Evgeny Strashok noted.

The film crew of “StopKora” tried to communicate with Cherny about a textile enterprise from the Sumy region. And even agreed to meet him. However, at the last moment, prosecutor Cherny changed his plans and has not been in contact since.

Meanwhile, the company’s lawyers have already won the appeal - the court, by its decision, unblocked the corporate accounts of the strategic enterprise.

Yes, more! In determining where the arrest of accounts is canceled, the Court of Appeal clearly reflected the unlawfulness of the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office. And the money, which the prosecutors of the GPU consider “criminally obtained”, was returned to the enterprise on legal grounds.

Are the prosecutors deliberately blocking the business? This is very similar to the scheme of “knocking out” money from successful entrepreneurs …