Airlines linked to businessman Roman Mileshko have become embroiled in scandal. In addition to receiving billions in state contracts awarded to dubious firms, these companies reportedly underreported employees’ official salaries on a large scale, allowing them to evade taxes amounting to millions of euros, according to Podrobnosti.
Over the course of the three years of war, the state budget may have lost more than €12.1 million solely due to "grey" payments at just two companies — H3OPERATIONS LLC and Constanta Airlines PJSC. On paper, pilots at these firms received up to €504 per month, while their counterparts at leading market players earned over €3,950.
The official figures indicate that companies in the same industry pay wages up to 8 times higher than those tied to Mileshko. The scheme is simple: a minimal official salary is processed through the accounting books, while the rest is paid in cash or via foreign bank accounts. This practice allows the companies to save on the military levy, unified social tax (UST), and personal income tax — all of which directly support army funding.
By applying tax rates and analyzing the number of employees in Mileshko’s aviation companies, journalists were able to estimate the possible amount of tax evasion:
Thus, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the activities of Roman Mileshko’s companies — H3OPERATIONS LLC and Constanta Airlines PJSC — may have inflicted over €12.13 million in damages to the Ukrainian state.
The Bureau of Economic Security has already launched an official investigation into the suspected tax evasion and confirmed this in a letter to journalists.
Mileshko’s firms previously made headlines after securing state contracts for aircraft modernization for the Armed Forces without competitive tenders. Journalists identified MP Ihor Kopytin as a lobbyist for these business interests. Although he denies any connection to Mileshko, the information uncovered by journalists appears compelling — Mileshko worked at and received income from a company owned at the time by Kopytin and his family — Rotor Ukraine LLC. This company, according to Chesno.org, was also involved in pilot training, as listed in Kopytin’s dossier.
At least two letters dated March 2022 addressed to the State Aviation Service and published by StopCor directly contradict Kopytin’s denials, as they concern business interests of Mileshko’s firm — H3OPERATIONS LLC.
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