The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against officials of a representative office of a foreign organisation under Part 3 of Article 243 of the Criminal Code, which concerns tax and fee evasion on an especially large scale. The case was initiated on the basis of materials provided by the Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee.
According to the investigation, the representative office of the foreign organisation was in fact engaged in commercial activity without having the legal right to do so.
“The actual organisers and executors of the unlawful scheme were officials of the representative office of the foreign organisation. They created and for a long period maintained the appearance of lawful activity by registering a representative office in Belarus which, by its legal status, did not have the right to carry out commercial (entrepreneurial) activity. At the same time, the real purposes and scale of operations fully corresponded to the commercial interests of the foreign company and went far beyond representative functions.
As a result of the sale of goods on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, significant revenue subject to profit tax was obtained, however this payment was not transferred to the state budget,” the Investigative Committee said.
Investigators questioned those involved, analysed the financial activities of the representative office and collected evidence. After that, the foreign organisation transferred funds.
“Within three days after the criminal case was opened, the foreign organisation voluntarily transferred more than 60 million Belarusian roubles from abroad in order to compensate for the damage caused and to secure possible property claims. These funds were deposited into the Investigative Committee’s deposit account and immediately seized in accordance with criminal procedure legislation.
Subsequently, representatives of the organisation officially stated their intention to conduct commercial activities in Belarus in the future exclusively within the legal framework and in strict compliance with legislative requirements,” the Investigative Committee said.
According to the State Control Committee, the preliminarily established amount of unpaid profit tax exceeded 3 million roubles. The company was engaged in selling goods to Belarusian business entities.
The name of the company and the field of its activity were not disclosed.
The Investigative Committee also recalled that foreign organisations carrying out entrepreneurial activity in the country must fully pay all established taxes and fees. Such activity may be conducted through the registration of a permanent establishment with the right to conduct commercial activity, the opening of a branch, or the establishment of a separate legal entity.
