Czech firm allegedly sold Ukraine drones up to 20 times more expensive

Czech firm Reactive Drone is facing charges of tax evasion after selling Chinese drones to the Ukrainian military for up to 20 times more than their purchase price.

According to the Czech National Centre against Organised Crime, the firm bought the drones for CZK 36 million, while Ukraine paid CZK 692 million for them. The margin thus reached almost 95 percent.

Although the high margin is not in itself criminal, the problem is that most of the profits - 638 million - went into Chinese accounts, according to Czech Radio. According to the police, the company tried to reduce its tax base through fictitious invoices. Investigators froze accounts with more than 380 million.

The company's managing director ended up in custody, the accountant is cooperating with the police. The company's lawyer declined to comment on the case. Police expect the total damage to grow. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has not commented on the case.

(sie)