Фото: Reform.news
Prosecutors in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz have completed an investigation into seven Ukrainian citizens suspected of participating in an organized criminal group involved in money laundering and tax fraud between 2018 and 2021. As prosecutor’s office spokesperson Agnieszka Adamska-Okońska reported, the beneficiaries of the illegally transferred funds were primarily legal entities registered in Russia and Belarus.
The scheme operated on a carousel fraud model. The suspects acted as representatives of shell companies, received criminal proceeds into their accounts and transferred the money through accounts of other fictitious entities. The companies were registered at virtual office addresses, had a limited circle of counterparties, and conducted transit transactions without documentation confirming genuine business activity. The total amount of illegally transferred funds exceeded 1 million euros.
The investigation was launched in February 2021 following a report from Poland’s General Inspector of Financial Information, who had received data from a bank concerning suspicious transactions. All seven suspects pleaded guilty. The prosecutor seized company shares and funds held in bank accounts worth approximately 600,000 zlotys. The case has been referred to the Warsaw Regional Court.