The airline company International Airlines of Ukraine, which owes almost 300 mln hryvnias to the state, wants to reach the amicable settlement with the Ministry of Infrastructure; Minister Volodymyr Omelian told to Anti-Corruption Center, Economic Truth reports.
According to Omelian, IAU’s debt to the State Fund for Financing Public Spending on Aviation Activity and Ukraine’s Participation in International Air Organizations increased to UAH 295.5 mln.
That is, from January 1, 2014, IAU collected fee from each passenger for the respective designed purpose, but did not transfer these funds to the Fund. Each passenger, who flew by IAU, can see this fee in his ticket.
“IAU proposes settling the dispute with the state by signing the amicable agreement. However, the company suggests repaying only UAH 47 mln, but not the whole amount”, Omelian told. According to him, the Ministry will not accept such proposal from the airline company.
He also added that from March 2016, IAU stopped collecting this fee from passengers in the form of UD code; however, the tickets did not become cheaper, as the company included the collection of these funds from passengers in other items.
It should be reminded that in November, the detectives filed charges against three individuals – Former Director of State Air Service Denis Antoniuk, President and Chief Accountant of IAU.
The crime was determined under P.5 of Art.191 of the Criminal Code - Misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion or property by malversation. The suspects will carry the penalty of 12 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property, and IAU should pay debt to the state in full.
However, NABU investigators got the refusal to sign the suspicion to the managers of Kolomoisky from the Chairman of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office Nazar Kholodnitsky.
The SACPO Director argued that he refused due to positive rulings of economic and administrative courts in IAU, under which, in prosecutor’s opinion, the NABU case has no prospects.
It should be reminded that the economic courts considered the disputes between IAU and the State Air Service on collection of the specified fee to the benefit of the state.
The Supreme Court gave a quietus to these disputes, finally terminating the proceeding for the reason that these disputes are not subject to hearing in accordance with economic proceedings, but instead of it, should be tried in accordance with the administrative proceedings.
As regards the administrative disputes, then it refers to IAU’s lawsuits against the State Air Service, according to which the sending of invoices on collection of the fee by the State Air Service to IAU is deemed illegal.
Now, the courts deny IAU, as they do not consider that the invoices, sent by airline companies, have the signs of the binding decision or anyhow violate MAU’s rights.
However, the administrative courts also deny the fee collection to the State Air Service, as they consider that its decision is informational, while there is no sufficient regulatory support, which would allow the service to collect these funds from MAU in court.
