Law-enforcement agents have arrested 23 tax administration officials throughout Ukraine in a massive anti-corruption operation, Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoly Matios has said. Some 23 high-ranking officials are already in custody.Law enforcers are currently conducting a special operation as part of inquiry into the Income and Tax Ministry of Ukraine under the former income and tax minister, Oleksandr Klymenko, he said.
In his words, search and seizure operations are currently being conducted involving top officials of tax authorities in a number of regions, "at all tax offices where enterprises of the real sector of the economy were sent."
"During the course of the criminal investigation we foresee detaining and charging employees of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), Ukraine's SBU Security Service and employees of the state tax administration. The state was robbed of billions of hryvnia, which enriched individuals who are still living quietly in Ukraine," Ukraine's military prosecutor said. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that investigators worked well. "There will be even more proof," he added.
