Businessman Oleg Bakhmatyuk reveals how his persecution by NABU Director Artem Sytnyk has cost the state UAH 1.5 billion in direct losses.
The businessman told the story in an interview to Dmitriy Gordon. According to him, his company, Ukrlandfarming, is one of the largest agricultural companies of Ukraine that used to contribute UAH 2-3 billion in taxes annually to the state budget. One year of pressure on his company on the part of NABU, however, as part of the so-called Pysaruk-Bakhmatyuk case, has cost the state UAH 1.5 billion in direct losses: We had paid a total of 7.7-7.8 billion hryvnias in taxes of all levels over the three years before 2015. Payroll taxes, VAT, corporate income tax, land tax… So, we were paying some two to three billion hryvnias in taxes per year. At times even more than that. Now, I think, we’ll end up paying only half of that this time. It is through the efforts of NABU and all those hounds faking activity and telling stories how they are upholding the public interest while actually undermining it and imitating work, which I could prove quite unemotionally – that I unfortunately find myself in this situation.
Oleg Bakhmatyuk indicated that he had appealed repeatedly to the president and prime minister to expose the NABU director’s inappropriate actions that have inflicted massive losses on the state budget: In the course of this year, I must have appealed to the president and prime minister five times and asked them: Please restrain this man who costs 1.5 billion a year to the state budget. Restrain the man who has put personal vengeance above the public interest. Restrain the man who is breaking the law and acting as if he were a law unto himself, acting out of expediency and literally branding people guilty. All this does is reduce tax revenue and threaten job security for Ukrainian citizens.
Just as a reminder, the NABU case against the former deputy governor of the NBU, Oleksandr Pysaruk, and the businessman Oleg Bakhmatyuk was launched into alleged misappropriation of UAH 1.2 billion worth of refinancing extended by the NBU to VAB Bank. Expert opinions by the Deposit Guarantee Fund and statements by the NBU have confirmed that the proceeds of refinancing were fully spent according to their designated purpose, they were paid out to the depositors of VAB Bank.
