Anti-corruption prosecutors suspect the former head of the State Fiscal Service, Myroslav Prodan, misappropriated Hr 89 million ($3.2 million) during his tenure, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported on Nov. 16.
Prodan, who served as a deputy head and then as an acting head of Ukraine’s main tax agency, from July 2016 to September 2018, has left Ukraine, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
According to the prosecutors, he spent the stolen money on premium cars and elite property: two apartments in Kyiv for Hr 6.7 million ($241,300), two houses in Turkey for Hr 78 million ($2.8 million), and three cars for Hr 3.4 million ($122,400). In order to conceal its real owner, all of the property was registered under another person’s name.
Prosecutors said Prodan had ignored multiple summons for questioning, the most recent one on Nov. 15.
Prodan claims he is undergoing medical treatment in Germany. In a Facebook post on Nov. 14, he confirmed that he had left Ukraine on Nov. 5 and went to Moldova by car. He said he was visiting his parents in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, a town on the border with Moldova.
He said he had been in touch with prosecutors and told them he would show up for questioning as soon as he returns to Ukraine.
However, prosecutors say Prodan has not provided any details about his location.
“Despite calls and queries from prosecutors, Prodan and his lawyers have not yet reported his location or in which medical facility he, as he says, is undergoing treatment,” reads a statement from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
If Prodan is found guilty of embezzlement, he faces 5 to 10 years in prison, a ban on taking any government job for three years, and the confiscation of property.
Prodan was previously under investigation in connection with a tax evasion scheme involving walnut exports, but the case was closed after his appointment as the acting head of the State Fiscal Service. He was appointed the acting head after the previous head of the service, Roman Nasirov, was arrested and put on trial for illegally writing off taxes to private companies. The trial is ongoing; Nasirov was released on Hr 100-million bail ($3.7 million) and announced he would run for Ukrainian presidency in 2019.
