Owner of 'Zlata' and Attico chains returns 10.6 million UAH in unpaid VAT to the state

Repayment of funds to the budget

Mykola Savko, who owns the Lviv retail chains for footwear and leather goods 'Zlata' and Attico, settled a debt to the state amounting to over 10.5 million hryvnias. This sum represents unpaid value-added tax. On 6 October, the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) announced that the entrepreneur had managed to reimburse the state 10.6 million UAH.

Tax evasion scheme

As a result of investigative actions, it was established that to evade tax payments, Savko used a 'business splitting' scheme. The implementation of this scheme occurred through a network of 13 individual entrepreneurs under his control. The methodology involved distributing sales among simplified taxpayers, which allowed avoiding the transition to the general taxation system and VAT payer status.

Scale of the network and control

In the territory of Lviv and Lviv Oblast, 14 stores operate under the 'Zlata' brand and 7 locations of the Attico chain. The pre-trial investigation recorded that all these retail objects are under the management of a single entity — an individual entrepreneur engaged in the retail sale of footwear and leather goods.

Details of the analytical conclusion

The BEB analytical conclusion dated 11 August 2026 (registration number 29.11/8.2/52-26) documents the artificial distribution of income among controlled entrepreneurs. According to the data, the VAT taxable base for 2025 was allegedly understated by 52.9 million UAH, resulting in unpaid tax in the amount of 10.6 million UAH. Thirteen individual entrepreneurs are involved in the scheme. It is known that one of the associated entrepreneurs declared income of 4.0 million UAH for 2024, but did not submit reporting documentation for 2025.