There are ongoing multibillion-dollar disputes around the bankruptcy of Energogaz, the subgeneral contractor of the Punginskoye UGS facility expansion project in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, and now there's another scandal involved.
During the audit, tax officials found that the companies controlled by Stroyenergomash and Stroyenergokompleks artificially inflated the cost of supplying goods, resulting in a decrease in budget revenues. The audit also revealed the movement of billions to the accounts of technical units, including the withdrawal of the formed margin from business turnover and from taxation, the transfer of money for the purchase of securities and the cashing out of funds. The Federal Tax Service is now searching for hundreds of millions in the bankruptcy case of the Gazprom structure, while third parties are trying to challenge the tax conclusions. Creditors are also bringing up Dmitry Doev, the ex-head of Gazprom Tsentrremont, in relation to conflicts, with his involvement in the VIS group of Igor Snegurov becoming a topic of discussion in relation to Gazprom’s failures in courts and potentially dubious schemes at large projects of the state monopoly.
The Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal has accepted a complaint related to the additional assessment of Energogaz LLC (owned in majority by Gazprom Centernergogaz JSC) of hundreds of millions of taxes for consideration.
Following an on-site audit by the Interdistrict IFTS for the largest taxpayers No. 1, a decision was made to ask Energogaz to pay taxes and penalties totaling more than 580 million rubles, as well as imposing a fine of 28.2 million rubles.
Photo: Vladimir Burnov / RAPSI
The decision to impose taxes and penalties on Energogaz LLC was based on the conclusion of fiscal officials regarding the company's scheme of including technical links in the actual supply of goods through Stroyenergomash LLC and Stroyenergokompleks LLC, resulting in an artificial increase in the cost of supplying goods and an unlawful reduction of corporate income tax and VAT payable.
An analysis of primary documents revealed a maximum deviation in the cost of purchased materials and equipment from Stroyenergokompleks of 980%. Additionally, there was an overestimation of the cost of other deliveries organized by Energogaz through the controlled companies Stroyenergomash and Stroyenergokompleks.
For instance, during the period being examined, the taxpayer bought hydraulic alluvial soil from the Mezhdurechnoye sand deposit with a significant overpricing of 197.1 million, which is 289% higher than the fair price, indicating that the taxpayer's argument about the absence of a significant markup is unfounded, according to the Federal Tax Service.
Moreover, the authorities paid attention to the financial activities of the entities. According to the Federal Tax Service, companies affiliated with each other, such as LLC Energogaz, DOAO Tsentrenergogaz, and LLC Gazprom Tsentrremont, receive more than 88% of their funds from each other, totaling over 1.587 billion rubles.
A similar examination of the bank records of Stroyenergokompleks revealed that more than 95% of their funds come from Energogaz and Centrenergogaz, amounting to over 2.573 billion rubles.
Additionally, an analysis of extracts from Energogaz shows that Stroyenergomash and Stroyenergokompleks received advance payments for supply without future delivery terms specified in the contracts, indicating financial control by the disputed parties, as emphasized by state agency representatives.
The testimonies of managers were also notable. For example, Aleksey Kazakov stated that he cannot recall his previous places of work, except for Energokompleks LLC from 2014 onwards. However, it was noted by auditors that Kazakov A.V. has been the founder and head of Stroyenergomash since 2013, and an employee of Stroyenergokompleks LLC in 2015.
The former director of Energogaz, Pavel Maryanenko, claimed not to remember having any dealings with Stroyenergomash. Despite this, the Federal Tax Service emphasized that the contracts were made during his leadership and even signed by a witness.
Another point raised by the Federal Tax Service is the direct transportation of goods from the producers’ warehouse to the Energogaz warehouse, bypassing intermediaries. Stroyenergomash and Stroyenergokompleks were established shortly before conducting business with Energogaz and were dissolved at the end of their contractual relationship. These organizations had no property, vehicles, and reported minimal taxes, with the staff being the same individuals, according to representatives of the state agency.
The audit also revealed the extraction of profit from business turnover and tax evasion using methods such as transferring funds for the purchase of securities, vehicles, and cashing out funds.
As a result, the Arbitration Court in Moscow agreed with the Federal Tax Service's claims and rejected the claims of West Siberian Logistics Center LLC and Energogaz LLC.
Let us add that Energogaz, which acted as a subgeneral contractor for a project of federal significance – the expansion of the Punginskoye UGS facility in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – was previously declared bankrupt. At the moment, the claims of the Federal Tax Service for more than 600 million rubles have already been included in the register of claims of the debtor’s creditors.
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