The Prosecutor’s office

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Telegraph

UKRINFORM

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Former Consul General of Georgia in Odessa received a suspicion in the vast VAT fraud.

Former Consul General of Georgia in Odessa, Timur Nishnianidze is reported about suspicion in the engrossing of public funds in especially large sizes. About this in Facebook wrote press Secretary of the Prosecutor General Larisa Sargan.

“Department for investigation of particularly important cases in the economic sphere of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, with the operational support of the Main Department for combating corruption and organized crime of security Service of Ukraine reported about suspicion to the former Consul General of Georgia in Odessa Nishnianidze T. T. in the engrossing of public funds in especially large sizes on preliminary arrangement by group of persons and legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime, i.e . criminal offences provided for by part 5 of article 191, part 2 of article 209 of the Criminal code of Ukraine”, -wrote Gar.

She reported that the pre-trial investigation found that Nishnianidze, acting by prior conspiracy with other employees of the Consulate, in the period from June 2012 to November 2013 was provided to the tax authority of Ukraine the documents for the compensation of more than 17 mln. the value added tax (VAT) for goods allegedly purchased in specialty brand stores are Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dsquared2, Helen – Marlen and others, which are located on the territory of Kiev and Odessa, respectively, gives grounds to return them as foreigners of the value added tax.

Thus the total price of the “acquired” employees of the Consulate brand clothing and other goods at their own expense would have to be more than 100 million UAH. or more than $ 12 million. USA at the appropriate rate at the time.

Directly yourself Nishnianidze stated and received the VAT refund in the amount over 4 million UAH. These funds were recovered on his personal account and later made cash in the Bank terminals of Odessa and Kiev personal goals.

The part of VAT in the amount of almost UAH 1 million. Nishnianidze reimbursed for the purchases made in the period in which he was on the territory of Ukraine and to physically buy any of the goods could not.

Moreover, some purchases during these periods, Nishnianidze was supposedly made in the “Master company”, OOO “Everest 1”, “FF Ukraine”, which at the time of “acquisition” of economic activity is not carried out at all.

At the moment the issue of election of the former Consul General of Georgia in Odessa of a measure of restraint in form of detention with alternative bail in the amount specified by law.

Former Consul General of Georgia in Odessa Teimuraz Nishnianidze calls political persecution, the case against him.

He said this to journalists when he came for questioning to the Prosecutor General.

“This is a political prosecution… I charged some kind of return of VAT 2012. Today we have 2017. I’m four years before that, he lived in Ukraine and for some reason, when I headed the Foundation and joined the team of Saakashvili, he remembered about me,” he said.

Nishnianidze told that he was detained in two nights on the route Odessa-Kiev and read suspicion. However, he called unacceptable such actions against him, because, according to him, has diplomatic immunity.

Former Consul General said that after the interrogation, the GPU needs to be a trial, where he will be remanded.

As you know, on may 26, 2016 the investigators of the Prosecutor General’s office and the Moscow Department of the SBU searched the house of ex-Consul General of Georgia Nishnianidze. However, the searches took place in the Odessa regional state administration, which was then led by Mikheil Saakashvili. Investigative actions were conducted in the framework of several criminal proceedings: one of them openly alleged illegal compensation of the VAT officials of the Consulate General of Georgia in 2012-2013.

Before 20 March 2016 in respect of Nishnianidze opened criminal proceedings under part 5 of article 191 and part 4 of article 190 of the Criminal code of Ukraine. According to the investigation, from August 2015 to February 2016 Nishnianidze carried out the embezzlement of funds of the Fund “For the benefit of Odessa” located in the offices of the Odessa regional state administration.

Trade leads the Department of the GPU of the investigation and supervision in criminal proceedings in the sphere of public service and of ownership, known in the media as “the Department Kononenko-Granovsky”.

Nishnianidze became adviser to then Chairman of the Odessa regional state administration of Mikheil Saakashvili in July 2015.