The Yabko chain reimbursed more than ₴60 million in taxes following an investigation by the BEB
The well-known electronics retail chain “Yabko” has reimbursed more than 60 million hryvnias in taxes to the state budget as part of criminal proceedings regarding tax evasion on an especially large scale.
According to the investigation, the director of a Lviv-based company engaged in the retail sale of electronics, telecommunications equipment, and accessories allegedly organized a scheme to minimize tax payments throughout 2025.
“It has been established that throughout 2025, the director artificially split the sales process by processing sales through controlled sole proprietors operating under the simplified taxation system. In total, she involved 58 such sole proprietors,” the prosecutor’s office reported.
According to law enforcement officials, these sole proprietors did not actually engage in independent business activities; instead, the company’s director centrally managed their financial transactions and tax reporting.
According to the investigation, when equipment was sold, the funds did not go directly to the company but were distributed among the accounts of the involved sole proprietors, which allowed the company to avoid paying value-added tax.
“This scheme allowed the company to avoid paying 20% value-added tax. As a result of this artificial removal of income from taxation, the company intentionally failed to pay VAT totaling over 60 million hryvnias to the state budget,” the prosecutor’s office noted.
A criminal case was opened regarding this matter under Part 3 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
As part of the pretrial investigation, the company fully reimbursed the state budget for over 60 million hryvnias in unpaid taxes.
In light of the full reimbursement of the losses, prosecutors filed a motion with the court to exempt the suspect from criminal liability.
In addition, the company agreed to transfer 5 million hryvnias to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of which 2 million hryvnias have already been paid.
Earlier, according to ZAXID.NET, large-scale searches were conducted at stores in the “Yabko” chain as part of this criminal proceeding.
This was reported by the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine and the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) conducted extensive audits of two popular electronics retail chains—Yabko and Yabluka—and uncovered serious violations related to tax evasion.
The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine confirmed that investigative actions were being carried out regarding the “Yabko” electronics retail chain as part of an investigation into possible tax evasion and the illegal import of electronics.
