Donetsk, Dec 14 – DAN. Former acting principal deputy of Tax and Revenue minister Mikhail Khalin has been arrested in Donetsk, his arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into the seizure of property of the DPR agro-industry worth 850 mln rubles ($12.7 mln).
The DPR Prosecutor General's office said Khalin is accused of abuse of power.
"The DPR Prosecutor General's office investigative department, as part of compliance with the law monitoring efforts, is looking into the criminal case over power abuse by officers of the Tax and Revenue Ministry when carrying out procedures to declare property of the Kolos D OJSC "vacant" and to pass it over to Zarya Agro state company, launched under Art. 338 p.3, s.C."
The investigators revealed that the ministry's officials abused power and unlawfully seized the property of Kolos D worth 500 mln rubles.
"Ex-deputy minister of tax and revenues Mikhail Khalin has been charged with criminal offense and placed under arrest. In addition, the investigation showed that as the result of the violations, the temporary financial assistance worth 52,800,000 rubles has not been refunded to the Republic's budget. Criminal cases have been opened under Art.348 p.1 and Art.225 p.1 against officials of the ministry and employees of the Zarya Agro company," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
The scandal around Kolos D broke after DAN published an interview with Kolos D director Vadim Savenko who accused the ministry and its head at the time Alexander Timofeyev of embezzlement of the property and unrealized gain worth 850 mln rubles in total. *ot