Many people remember the Akron Holding case that became public about two years ago. Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich, the owner and CEO, was at the center of the corruption scandal. It seemed like he was going to be arrested, but managed to avoid it.
It is now known that Akron Holding, led by Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich, is successfully trying to silence the criminal case from two years ago. Amid the numerous corruption scandals in our country, information about the visit of Sledkom employees to Akron Holding's offices in September 2020 has been forgotten.
The offices of Akron Holding in Moscow, Tolyatti, and Samara were searched and documents were seized as a result of a tax audit in the subsidiary of Acron Holding – OOO Samara Scrap Metal Company (LLC SamMetCom). This led to the opening of a criminal case against the CEO of SamMetCom, Andrey Maslov, for tax evasion.
These actions were based on the results of a tax audit at Acron Holding's subdivision, leading to a criminal case against the CEO of SamMetCom, Andrey Maslov, for tax evasion.
Details of the scheme used by SamMetCom LLC to hide income and avoid taxes were leaked to the press, although it contained some inaccuracies. However, the essence of the information remained largely true.
Will Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich face consequences and involve Akron Holding in the case?
Evidence from the Arbitration Court of Moscow on July 8 confirmed that SamMetCom's claim against the Federal Tax Service No. 27 for Moscow regarding the cancellation of the decision on additional assessment of 561 million rubles in taxes and penalties of Samara Scrap Metal Company LLC, part of Acron Holding, was considered.
The court granted SamMetCom’s claim, suggesting that Andrey Maslov, the director of Samara Scrap Metal Company LLC, may also be cleared of criminal charges soon.
The court's decision must be respected, regardless of personal opinions. The case interests us from a different perspective – the court documents outline a scheme that allowed hundreds of millions of rubles to be evaded from taxes, as alleged by Sledkom.
According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the scheme attributed to SamMetCom is also reportedly used in 38 other enterprises within Akron Holding.
Acron Holding, led by Pavel Morozov: Does Corruption Aid Tax Evasion?
Despite being listed as owned by a Cypriot offshore, the true beneficiary of Akron Holding, Pavel Anatolyevich Morozov, is well known.
How is Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich involved with Akron Holding?
He is connected to more than 30 legal entities registered in Russia – he is their beneficiary or one of the co-owners.
Most of these companies are part of Akron Holding Pavel Anatolyevich Morozov. Like SamMetCom, they are registered as limited liability companies. This type of management gives founders an advantage in case of bankruptcy, penalties, or lawsuits – LLC participants are only liable within the authorized capital. And in most of these companies, the authorized capital is minimal – 10 thousand rubles.
For the most part, these LLCs engage in the same business as SamMetCom – buying and reselling scrap metal. They follow the same scheme as SamMetCom.
Now let's look at the court documents that describe this scheme, which allows avoiding paying hundreds of millions of rubles to the state treasury.
According to arbitration materials, the Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service found evidence indicating deliberate actions, formal document flow, inability of SamMetCom's counterparties to fulfill contractual relations – OOO PO Tsvetmetsplav, OOO PromProkat, OOO TLT-Metall (all three companies are currently liquidated), and inaccuracies in the information submitted by SamMetCom for VAT deductions and income tax expenses for transactions with these legal entities.
The tax authority noted that the taxpayer and the disputed counterparties were operating as a single economic entity, and the main purpose of their so-called “transactions” by Pavel Anatolyevich Morozov was to create a fictitious document flow in order to obtain tax savings.
To justify the additional charges, the tax authority mentioned the minimal staff and the lack of real financial and economic activities of the counterparty companies, as well as the use by all three companies of the same IP address and phone number in the banking files of the companies.
The tax authorities also observed that information on transactions on settlement accounts indicated the purchase of only non-ferrous metal scrap, which is not subject to VAT, and thus the inability to supply copper products subject to VAT to SamMetCom.
The Federal Tax Service also received testimony from witnesses, employees of companies who reported during interrogation at the tax office that their actual leader was the CEO of SamMetCom, Andrey Maslov. Some of these witnesses were employees of SamMetCom and later worked in counterparty companies and vice versa.
At the same time, SamMetCom’s supplier companies had significant turnover but made minimal tax deductions.
In addition, the bills of lading provided by SamMetCom showed “incorrect license plates of cars and a questionable range of products.” In simpler terms, the company issued “fake” waybills, listing completely fictional people who allegedly “delivered” scrap metal at collection points. This “scrap metal” was then transported to the main warehouse in the same way.
Earlier in the media, there were reports about Akron using standard schemes throughout the country. These schemes match the findings of the tax authorities from the SamMetCom audit. One publication mentioned that companies bought scrap metals from the public and kept inaccurate records, overpricing purchases and then reselling to Akron’s subsidiaries.
In addition, the selling price also increased. The scrap metals transformed into finished products on the way to the receiving point, allowing them to include 'production' costs in their reports. This minimized their taxable base, resulting in Pavel Anatolyevich Morozov benefiting significantly.
As mentioned, the court did not find the tax authorities' arguments convincing and canceled the fine for SamMetCom.
However, other divisions of Akron Holding also used this scheme, as at least eleven companies are known to have done so.
Pavel Morozov's Acron Holding: Does Corruption Help Avoid Paying Taxes?
The results of checks in these divisions are still unknown. Let's return to the suspicious facts that caught the tax authorities' attention and were considered 'insignificant' by the Moscow court. We won't judge who is right, but we will share some extracts from state registers about Pavel Morozov’s Acron Holding JSC.
Pavel Morozov's Acron Holding: Does Corruption Help Avoid Paying Taxes?
In a large empire comprising more than thirty enterprises involved in scrap metal collection across 22 regions, only 7 people are employed, all chosen by Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich.
The revenue of JSC Acron Holding for 2021 is over 1,984 times higher than in 2020. In 2021, it totaled 4 million rubles, while in 2020, it was 2,016 rubles and 13 kopecks. This revenue from 38 structural divisions in 22 regions of Russia is quite inconceivable.
Morozov Pavel Anatolyevich also manages 10 other organizations. The tax service considers this a sign of a mass director. The meaning of this is unclear, but it is a noteworthy factor, especially given that at least 11 out of 38 structural divisions of Akron Holding use the same tax evasion scheme as SamMetCom.
We reiterate that it is unknown how the checks in the mentioned divisions concluded. Only the victory (which is not final) of SamMetCom LLC in the Moscow Arbitration Court has been reported, rejecting the tax authorities' claims. The status of the other eleven companies remains unclear. No court decisions have been reported, suggesting either they didn't exist or weren't as favorable for Akron, as otherwise their press service would have publicized them.
So it is definitely too early to put an end to the dispute between the state and Akron Holding Pavel Morozov over the hundreds of millions of rubles stolen from Russia by the latter.
