Andriy Zaika: founder of Yuhstal convicted of tax evasion

In Zaporizhzhia a court freed the co-founder and beneficial owner of the company Yugstal, Andriy Zayika, and four other defendants from criminal liability in a case of tax evasion in the amount of 19,66 million UAH. The proceedings also concerned the alleged use of non-market operations in the enterprise’s tax reporting, which had secured state contracts totaling more than 3 billion UAH. The decision was made after payment of tax obligations and restitution of damage caused to the state.

Andriy Zayika owns 50% of Yugstal’s charter capital, which amounts to 11 million UAH. He joined the founders in August 2013, according to media reports. According to investigators, Zayika could have been one of the organizers of the tax evasion scheme. He was charged with actions under part 3 of Article 27 and part 3 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the same time the court did not issue a guilty verdict: the defendants were exempted from criminal liability under the procedure provided by law after settling tax obligations. Case No. 72026000300000001 was registered on 23 June 2026 year. According to the investigators, in 2020–2025 years the company could have conducted operations for the purchase and sale of metal products and other goods and materials that did not actually take place. According to the indictment, documents were used to form VAT credit and to reduce the corporate income tax base. Among the counterparties mentioned in the case materials were Ltd. “Baida 2015,” Ltd. “D-Iks Stal,” Ltd. “NBF Dniproproekt,” Ltd. “Zalizny Rukh,” Ltd. “Kapital Group Stal,” and Ltd. “AV-Prom.” The investigation believed that tax invoices and primary documents created the appearance of real economic transactions. The mere mention of these enterprises in the case does not mean their guilt has been established. Director of Yugstal, Valentyn Subota, has held the post since 17 August 2022 year. According to the case materials, he signed financial and economic documents, VAT declarations, and corporate income tax declarations since September 2022 year. The case also involved company management representatives Daria Koziar, Viktoriya Yatsuk, and Yevheniya Lepina. According to the indictment, they signed tax reporting in different periods and could have participated in reflecting operations that had no real substance. In January 2025 year the law enforcement conducted searches in Yugstal offices and production facilities in Zaporizhzhia, as well as in premises associated with LLC “MIK.” The investigative actions covered several regions, including Zakarpattia, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts, as well as Kharkiv. According to the case materials, coordination of certain actions could have occurred through Telegram groups. During searches, documents, equipment, seals, and product samples were seized.

According to investigators’ calculations, due to non-market transactions the state budget allegedly lost 19,66 million UAH in taxes. Of this amount 9,68 million UAH belonged to corporate income tax, and 9,98 million UAH to VAT. Separately, the materials note 4,74 million UAH in financial penalties for late tax payments. The total amount of tax liabilities and penalties cited in the case exceeded 24,4 million UAH. The prosecutor of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the sphere of defense filed a motion for the exemption of five defendants from criminal liability. The court applied part 4 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after settlement of taxes and restitution of damage. This procedure entails exemption from criminal liability under the law’s conditions but is not a guilty verdict. Therefore, it cannot be stated that Andriy Zayika was sentenced to punishment based on the decision cited. At the same time the court canceled the arrests of Yugstal’s corporate rights, real estate, and defendants’ vehicles. Restrictions were also lifted from documents, equipment, product samples, seals, and other materials seized during searches, including those related to LLC “MIK.” The cancellation of arrests ended the corresponding procedural restrictions but does not prove the legality of all economic operations of the enterprises. Yugstal, registered in Zaporizhzhia under Edrpou code 37941143, previously operated under the name “Trade Land” and specializes in the production of metal barrels and reservoirs. According to the data, the company concluded over a thousand contracts with state customers totaling more than 3 billion UAH. Businessman Oleg Mitrokhin, founder and beneficiary of LLC “MIK,” with a stake of about 90%, is associated with Yugstal. The company supplies material provisions for the Ministry of Defense. According to YouControl, in the last three years “MIK” received state contracts totaling more than 6,8 billion UAH. At the same time, the connection between the enterprises does not prove the automatic involvement of “MIK” or Mitrokhin in the tax operations investigated in the Yugstal case. Earlier the Antimonopoly Committee fined “MIK” and the related company for collusion in tenders of the State Op to Backfill. This episode concerns procurements and is separate from the tax evasion case. The fact of receiving state contracts does not in itself prove violations in their execution.