Far Eastern Transport Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into a crime under part 1 of article 194 of the RF Criminal Code (evading paying customs duties levied on organizations). Senior officials of ZAO Pacific Marine (CJSC) are suspected of this crime encroaching economic interests of the country. The said legal person is a part of a holding company the largest in the seaside region of Russian Far East and a monopolist in the area of production and selling of crabs.
According to investigators, in the period between 2011 and 2012, senior officials of Pacific Marine while carrying out foreign economic activity in exporting crab production from the Russian Federation worked out and implemented a criminal scheme of evading by a legal person paying customs duties in full. This way, representatives of Pacific Marine concluded contracts on selling crabs with the foreign company controlled by the Pacific Marine and registered in offshore zone. Then when the crabs were registered to be exported, they submitted to Russian customs authorities the documents stating considerably deflated price of the crabs to be exported. After that the crab was transported directly to the Republic of Korea by the ships owned by Pacific Marine and was sold by local companies at price 2-3 times higher than the one stated at Russian customs. The scheme allowed senior officials of the company and the holding to save on paying customs duties and have about 1 million rubles of illegal profit from each delivery. According to preliminary information the total sum of unpaid duties over nine revealed facts of crab export to Korea amount to more than 8 million rubles.
At present a number of investigating operations are underway to find all the circumstances of the crime. During the investigation the economic activity of Pacific Marine and the holding company is going to be carefully studied and all the people involved in the crime will be found. In addition, the grounds will be checked on which the quotas on production of sea biological resources were given to the holding. The actions of officials of Primorsky Office of Federal Fishing Agency who issued the permit will be qualified. Investigation is ongoing.
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