In the first half of 2026 alone, over UAH 1.6 billion has already been returned to the state and local budgets in cases of tax evasion. This is stated in a message from the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, reports UNN.
"UAH 1.6 billion returned to the state. This is how the result in tax evasion cases is measured. In such proceedings, the main indicator is not the number of suspicions or indictments. The main indicator is the money returned to the budget.
That is why one of the key tasks of prosecutors and detectives of the BEB is not only to expose the scheme, but also to ensure full compensation to the state for unpaid taxes," the Prosecutor General reported on the results of work for the first half of 2026.
According to Kravchenko, behind every hryvnia there are established schemes, financial examinations, collected evidence, and the principled work of prosecutors and law enforcement officers.
The Prosecutor General gave specific examples.
One example: an enterprise that executed defense contracts and evaded tax payment. The indictment has already been sent to court. During the pre-trial investigation, almost UAH 33 million was compensated to the budget.
Another more than UAH 98 million was paid by a developer who systematically evaded land tax.
In the Lviv region, after exposing a scheme of artificial business fragmentation through controlled individual entrepreneurs (FOPs), another UAH 60.3 million was returned to the budget.
Over UAH 25 million was compensated in a case concerning a chain of stores in Zakarpattia, where the activities of more than 50 retail outlets were formalized through dozens of controlled individual entrepreneurs.
"This is exactly how the law enforcement system should work: expose the scheme, prove the damages, and return every unpaid hryvnia to the state," Kravchenko emphasized.
According to the Prosecutor General, an important role in this work is played by the State Tax Service of Ukraine, which conducts tax audits, based on the results of which it draws up relevant acts and conducts analytical studies. Together with the results of forensic economic examinations, these materials form the evidence base on the basis of which individuals are notified of suspicion of committing tax crimes.
Kravchenko explained that the law provides for the possibility of exemption from criminal liability in case of full compensation for damages before bringing a person to justice. But this is always preceded by the work of law enforcement officers: exposing the crime, collecting evidence, establishing all circumstances, and ensuring the full return of funds.
"For business, the signal is simple. You need to compete with quality, technology, and development, not with schemes. You can build complex chains of fictitious transactions, hide profits, or split a business into dozens of individual entrepreneurs. But if the scheme works to evade taxes, it will definitely be exposed, and the funds will have to be returned. The state must receive its funds voluntarily. If this does not happen, law enforcement officers will return them," the Prosecutor General summarized.