ArcelorMittal bank account in Ukraine frozen over tax evasion

The bank accounts of ArcelorMittal in Ukraine have been frozen by a court after a senior executive at the company was accused of tax evasion, according to the Financial Times.

According to the publication authorities in Ukraine have been conducting investigations into ArcelorMittal’s tax dealing over the past few years.

ArcelorMittal with its subsidiary ArcelorMittal Liberia here is currently seeking an extension of its Mineral Development Contract here with an amended MDA before the Liberian legislature for ratification.

Though there is currently no accusation against the company over its tax dealing or an investigation, there has been a series of opposition against the extension of the company’s MDA with prominent sons of the host counties kicking against the new deal.

The Reuters news agency reported in 2019, that the Ukrainian authorities were conducting a tax audit of the company’s operation.

ArcelorMittal, Ukraine’s biggest private foreign investor, has been in the spotlight after an environmental investigation at its plant in the city of Kryvyi Rih was launched this year.

ArcelorMittal bought its steel mill in Kryviy Rih — Ukraine’s largest and one of the biggest in Europe — from the state for $5.2bn in 2005. It says it has pumped an additional $4.8bn into the country since then.

A Ukraine court was reported to have ruled in favour of a request from the prosecutor-general’s office for the freezing of accounts, resulting in the halt of the company’s financial transactions.

Ukraine court documents accused ArcelorMittal group’s chief financial officer in Ukraine of failing to pay tax arrears of 2.24bn hryvnias ($81m). The allegations are said to be based on investigations conducted by the counter-intelligence agency Security Service (SBU) and are the latest in a number of court cases and probes against the company over tax.