Czech police accuse three of tax evasion for 2.6 billion crowns

Prague - The Czech police have proposed that two men and one woman be accused of tax evasion worth 2.6 billion crowns in importing fuels from Slovakia, Jaroslav Ibehej, spokesman for the Squad for Uncovering Corruption and Financial Crime (UOKFK), writes on the police web today.

The police file that has more than 16,000 pages has been handed to the Supreme State Attorney´s Office in Prague, Ibehej writes.

The three persons face five to ten years in prison, if found guilty, Ibehej writes.

The criminal activities date back to the years 1996-2002 when Bena company imported more than 200,000 tonnes of diesel oil and petrol from Slovakia to the Czech Republic.

The fuel was allegedly stored in a public customs storage facility operated by Tukovy prumysl firm.

Ibehej writes that it was formal storing only while the fuels were physically kept in the pipelines through which they were transported from Slovakia.

"The stored fuels were being wilfully sold without the knowledge of customs bodies. The accused persons were covering up their criminal activities by submitting false individual customs declarations, among others," Ibehej writes.

"The accused persons pretended carrying out non-existent deals that rested in mutual sales and subsequent return purchases of fuels between Bena and another entity," Ibehej writes.

He writes that "Bena, however, did not own these fuels because it illegally sold them to third persons before. Excessive VAT returns were made within the fictitious deals."

The police say the prosecuted persons have stripped the state of 1.9 billion crowns in excise tax and another 750 million crowns in VAT.

The police and state attorneys have seized property, including real estate, for some 300 million crowns within the investigation, Ibehej writes.

($1=19.758 crowns) Author: CTK
www.ctk.cz

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