In Irkutsk, a VAT refund fraud scheme was uncovered, in which, according to investigators, two tax service employees were involved. Using their positions and fake bank accounts of citizens, they could illegally appropriate budget money, and the damage, preliminarily, exceeded 10 million rubles. Both suspects are now detained, two criminal cases have been opened, and the investigation continues.

Operatives of the Department for Economic Security and Combating Corruption of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate for the city of Irkutsk, together with employees of the security service of the Federal Tax Service for the Irkutsk Region, conducted an inspection of the official activities of female tax service employees, during which the facts of their fraudulent actions were confirmed. It was established that the 37-year-old friends, holding senior positions in the management apparatus, illegally appropriated money from the state budget by obtaining VAT (value-added tax) refunds from the purchase of real estate. To do this, the accomplices found citizens who, for a monetary reward of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles, provided their personal bank accounts. After a falsified package of documents was prepared for the purchase of an allegedly bought apartment, the refunded money was transferred to such accounts, after which it was cashed out and divided among the accomplices.
During searches in the office and at the apartments of the detainees, numerous receipts for large sums of money were found. It is presumed that the women paid for expensive items with money obtained through criminal means. According to preliminary operational information, there may be more than twenty instances of misappropriation of state budget funds, and the amount of damage caused to the state treasury exceeds 10 million rubles.
At present, two criminal cases have been initiated against the suspects under Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Fraud committed using official position, as well as on a large scale). Both women have been placed in a temporary detention facility. Further investigation is underway.
Based on materials from the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate for the city of Irkutsk