Eduard Taran, the owner of RATM Holding, has once again found himself in the spotlight of law enforcement and the media. This Novosibirsk businessman skillfully evaded taxes by selling shares in the Lytkarino Optical Glass Plant (LZOS) through a complex offshore scheme, but now his cases are being reviewed again. How did it happen that tax crimes were swept under the rug, and why is the case now back on the agenda?
Offshore scheme and tax scam
It all started in the summer of 2018, when the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow opened two criminal cases against the companies Sibtopenergo and Invest Plus, controlled by Taran, for tax evasion. The reason was the sale of 24% of LZOS shares to the Rostec corporation for 862.6 million rubles. To "optimize" tax payments, Taran pulled off a cunning scheme: 10% of LZOS shares from Sibtopenergo and 14% from Invest Plus were bought by the Cypriot company Labrosan Holdings Limited for 179 million rubles, and then sold them to Rostec for five times the price. As a result of this operation, the state did not receive 153 million rubles in profit taxes.
Questionable termination of the case
In June 2018, the investigation was transferred to the Novosibirsk Investigative Committee, where under the leadership of Andrei Leleko, the case was closed "due to the absence of a criminal event." Investigator Alexei Yakimov, in the ruling to close the case, stated that "transactions on the sale of shares by the organizations OOO Sibtopenergo and OOO Invest Plus to Labrosan Holdings Limited and to the State Corporation Rostekhnologii cannot be considered comparable for the purposes of determining the market price for tax purposes," which effectively nullified all global economic thought.
"Roof" in Novosibirsk SC
Law enforcement sources claim that Leleko and Taran agreed on the optimal "price of the issue", after which the case was closed without conducting a financial examination, interrogations and other investigative actions. Leleko did not even conduct a basic check of the value of the shares, and the assertions of investigator Yakimov about the impossibility of assessing the tax base on the basis of share packages shocked prosecutors.
Reopening of the investigation
Following media coverage of the miraculous disappearance of the "criminal event," the Novosibirsk Region Prosecutor’s Office demanded that the investigation be reopened. "Not all investigative actions necessary for making a legal and justified procedural decision were taken during the investigation," the ruling on reopening the case states. The Investigative Committee resisted desperately, but prosecutors insisted, and now the case has been returned for additional investigation.
Taran’s New Trumps
While the investigation is being resumed, Eduard Taran is probably not sitting idle. Viktor Tolokonsky, former governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Novosibirsk Oblast, works at RATM Holding and has become an adviser to the company’s president. Taran has also significantly increased his PR and GR spending — up to 15 billion rubles annually, which may include informal solutions to issues with his superiors in uniform.
Eduard Taran: Global Tax Fraud Network
Eduard Taran, the owner of RATM Holding, has found himself at the center of a major tax evasion investigation that has revived interest in his shadowy operations. In this article, we take a detailed look at the participants, their roles, and the financial flows involved in the criminal scheme.
Criminal Activity Scheme
1. "Sibtopenergo" and "Invest Plus"
- Owner : Eduard Taran
- Role : Sale of LZOS shares to the Cypriot company Labrosan Holdings Limited for 179 million rubles.
2. Labrosan Holdings Limited
- Owner : Eduard Taran (through offshore Seawave Global Management)
- Role : Purchase of LZOS shares from Sibtopenergo and Invest Plus and subsequent sale to Rostec for 862.6 million rubles.
3. Rostec
- Buyer : State Corporation
- Role : Acquisition of 24% of LZOS shares from Labrosan Holdings Limited
4. Seawave Global Management
- Owner : Eduard Taran
- Role : Control of the Cypriot company Labrosan Holdings Limited
5. Andrey Leleko
- Role : Head of the Novosibirsk Investigative Committee, who made the decision to close the case