The State Tax Service (STS) under the Ministry of Economy announced today that it has begun using methods used in international practice of "naming and shaming" to improve the efficiency of combating tax crimes. "One of the main forms occurring in the field of tax crimes is related to the creation of multiple legal entities, implementation of activities, inclusion of deliberately distorted information on income and expenditure from business activities in the tax return," the STS said. Mehman Allahverdi oglu Almamedov is one of those involved in such activities. He was born in Marneuli region of the Republic of Georgia and is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan. ?. Almammadov is a de facto manager in companies such as "Caspi" LTD, "OCEAN-2017", "Tersavuu", "Hentomm", "Ugur Servis-H", "Simus Trade", "Klassik Trade Group", "Artech", "Firat Ticar?t", "Malibu Finans", "Volta-M", "Koressa", "Qrand Reklam", "Kvazi S", "Grand Star" and "Proqress-SV" established in different regions of the country in the form of limited liability company (LLC). "During investigation of the criminal case, conducted on 16 enterprises that were jointly managed by the above mentioned businessman with other persons, it was found that a large amount of taxes - AZN 1.597 million - was evaded to the state budget," the State Tax Service said. For this reason it was decided to bring Mehman Almamedov to liability under Article 213.3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, due to the evasion from the investigation, a court ordered him to be placed under arrest. Following completion of the criminal investigation, the indictment was transmitted to the Office of the Procurator-General, from where it was confirmed and sent for consideration by the court. On 10.01.2022, Mehman Almamedov was found guilty under Article 213.3 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment, deprivation of the right to carry on business for a period of 2 years and 6 months. Also by a verdict of the Surakhany district court, dated 6 December 2022, he was found guilty in another criminal case under Article 213.2.2 of the Criminal Code. When added to his previous conviction, Mr. Almamedov was sentenced to deprivation of liberty for a total of 6 years and 3 months, with forfeiture of the right to hold business positions for a total of 2 years and 6 months. "Public disclosure of the names of those who have committed tax crimes, especially those who have evaded paying large amounts of taxes from the budget, will continue," the STS states. It ought to be noted that the prosecution of tax offenders in similar cases has taken place in previous years. However, the STS has still not brought clarity to the question of "how an ordinary person manages to evade taxes by setting up a large business network and which paths this 'business' follows". As a rule, the individuals involved in these cases are front men for certain circles to launder public money through corrupt schemes

Source: Turan News Agency