April 2 2003, 10:00 UNIAN

Procurator's Office will check accounts payable of L. Kozachenko's firm

General Procurator's Office of Ukraine intends to check lawfulness of formation of credit indebtedness in the joint venture "UkrAgroBusiness" in the period this company was headed by Leonid Kozachenko, a representative of Procurator's Office told journalists.

Leonid Kozachenko was arrested on March 24 on accusations of office abuses and tax evasion in especially large scales.

In particular, a check will be performed as regards the company's $20 million indebtedness before foreign suppliers of plant protection chemicals and other agricultural preparations, the Procurator's representative said.

He said the above inspections had been solicited by deputies of parliament and the Presidential Administration.

He also said the Procurator's Office was to find out whether the company was obliged to pay taxes from the bad debt account sum, being estimated at about $10 million.

Other facts from L. Kozachnko's business history will also be checked. While holding the position of UkrAgroBusiness General Director, during the year 2000 L. Kozachenko received nominal ordinary shares for the total sum of about 1.5 million hryvnias as a gift from two foreign companies (Swiss "Novartis" and Dutch "Astrazeneka"), without having paid income tax in the sum of 585,000 hryvnias. This is now being incriminated to him as one of accusations (tax evasion in especially large scales).

5.33 hrivnias = $1