Tiraspol, 16 February. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The SCC of the PMR is conducting an investigation into fraudulent supplies of fruit allegedly produced in Pridnestrovie to the Russian market.
It should be recalled that last August there appeared allegations in Moldova's mass media about the existing scheme for monopolising the export of fruit to the Russian Federation. Journalists claimed that it was possible to get for a certain sum of money all the necessary documents, including phytosanitary certificates, for supplying any agricultural production, even non-existent, to Russia.
This February RISE Moldova has published an investigation revealing that the Moldovan phytosanitary authorities issued certificates for fruit grown in non-existent gardens to Pridnestrovie-based companies.
As the SCC head, Yury Gervazyuk, has noted, «these companies has never transported agricultural production via Pridnestrovie on the export, import or transit basis'" «I can document it with absolute certainty to any party concerned. I want to note that all fruit supplies to the Russian Federation are carried out according to the present legislation — they are absolutely legitimate," he noted.
In 2014 Russia put a ban on the import of Moldovan agricultural products. At the beginning of 2015 the ban was lifted for fruit and vegetables produced in Pridnestrovie. The same year Russia imposed embargo on the import of vegetables and fruit from the EU. Thus, Pridnestrovie attracted the attention of many Moldovan and European agricultural suppliers who were seeking to sell their products to Russian market outlets. As a result, there have emerged grey schemes reported by Moldovan media outlets.
The fraud's essence consists in changing the origin of European fruit supplied to Russian and Belarusian markets. According to the certificates issued by Moldovan agencies, these products miraculously changed their European origin for Pridnestrovian. And companies allegedly registered in Pridnestrovie were indicated as product consignors. Pridnestrovian customs authorities have had some of these documents at their disposal. They have carried out an investigation of the copies of phytosanitary certificates which indicate various Pridnstrovian companies as product consignors.
«It was established that some of them OOO FruitImpex Group, Levada, Prodtorg, Agrotop, Eliteagro and other, according to Pridnestrovie's Companies House, are not registered in Pridnestrovie. As for OOO Keln and InterTrade, it is known for certain that they have never been engaged in foreign economic activities. It is remarkable that even the legal address of InterTrade was indicated by people unaware of Pridnestrovie's geography. For instance, they assigned Bendery to Slobodzeya district. Besides, the director of this company, as well as the head of another firm (DVT Broker) from the list of certificate holders, does not live in Pridnestrovie," said an SCC officer, Anatoly Kireyev.
The SCC notes that taking into account the risk of machinations around the export of Pridnestrovian agricultural products to Russia, apple and other product items were included in risk profiles as early as 2014. Their export is under tight control, as is the volume of fruit grown in Pridnestrovie and supplied to Russia.
«We are in constant touch with our ministries and agencies. The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources has information on the volume of grown products, including apple, for each farmer. The ministry monitors if agricultural producers have gardens in their property and in which regions, if the apple, which will be further exported pursuant to foreign economic contract, is grown in their gardens," explained Yury Gervazyuk.
According to the SCC, there are only five agricultural companies in Pridnestrovie which export fruit to Belarus and Russia. They present origin certificates (ST-1) to Pridnestrovie's customs bodies on a mandatory basis, which is under the SCC’s special control.
The SCC also notes that there were no apple supplies from Poland in 2015 (which are likely to be fraudulently exported to Eurasian markets). Therefore, if they did change the country of origin for Pridnestrovie, this was impossible to do without any assistance from Moldovan structures. This is proved by a public scandal which has recently arisen around Moldova's chief phytosanitarian Alexandru Cebanu. He was fired after a scheme for issuing false phytosanitary documents was exposed. With these documents a non-existent batch of fruit was going to be supplied to Russia.
For Pridnestrovie this situation is, first of all, a matter of reputation in foreign trade relations. Especially in the opinion of Russia and Russia's Federal Customs Service, which constantly combats «grey» supplies which are subject to non-tariff control. The Pridnestrovian customs authorities are keeping the situation under constant control. The information exchange on Pridnestrovian agricultural exports organised between the SCC and the Russian customs service excludes the possibility of illegal supplies from the territory of Pridnestrovie.
