The scheme of the "EDAPS" Consortium with holograms on excise stamps is back.

Patents for new excise stamps were hidden in the state register

The excise stamps hologram scheme is back, as are its key beneficiaries. An inner feeling suggests that David Arahamia, as well as Denys Shmyhal, could tell a lot about it. Of course, they don't have branded caps with the words "EDAPS Ambassador", but they would suit them very well.

Three weeks after the adoption of the government resolution on adding a holographic tape to excise stamps for tobacco and alcohol, secret applications for patenting new industrial designs were submitted to the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Institute of Industrial Property" database.

On June 19, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Resolution No. 618, which changes the design of the excise stamps for tobacco and vodka products. From November 1, there must be a holographic tape on excise stamps, which is supposed to improve the protection of alcohol and tobacco (see Fig. 1).

The solution is at least strange. First, it contradicts the official intention of the authorities to introduce recognized and effective Track and Trace technology, which makes it possible to instantly track the origin and route of goods. That is, either the current changes are temporary, or the entire previous strategy for regulating excise stamps, for which manufacturers have been preparing for years, is a fiction. Secondly, it will in no way affect the control of the illegal market, in the tobacco sector 60% of illegal cigarettes do not have any excise stamps at all, because they are supposedly Duty Free Only. Thirdly, we have the experience of 2012, when holographic excises were already introduced, and then canceled because they turned out to be very expensive and completely ineffective.

Nevertheless, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine accepted the initiative.

On the website of the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Institute of Industrial Property" there were 14 fresh applications for patents with the words "excise stamps" in the title. They were registered on July 4. The database does not contain any images or descriptions of the samples themselves, as well as data on patent applicants. For these applications, it is possible to view only the state of their record keeping, as indicated on the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Institute of Industrial Property" website (see Fig. 2).

Currently, it is not known how much holography will cost. But on the same day, July 4, a purchase was made, which makes it possible to make approximate calculations.

In the "Prozorro" system, which is an electronic system of public procurement, a report on the purchase of holographic protective elements for excise stamps by the State Enterprise Polygraph Plant "Ukraine" for UAH 141 million was made public. It is worth noting that 810,000 linear meters of the element were ordered, that is, the cost of the tape is UAH 173.46 per meter. Excise stamps are 2 cm wide, so one meter of tape contains material for 50 stamps. So, this entire purchase is calculated for holographic material for 40.5 million excise tickets, based on the calculation that the holographic element for one excise ticket will cost UAH 3.47. At the same time, according to the current government regulation, the amount of payment for one stamp for alcoholic beverages is UAH 0.3537, and for tobacco products – UAH 0.1643.

This is far from the entire market of Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine (see program 3507010 in the 2022 report), 2.57 billion excise stamps were produced last year. If production continues at this level next year, then about 9 billion UAH will be spent on holograms per year, at the rate of UAH 3.47 per holographic material for one stamp. Or approximately 243 million dollars.

This is five times more than the "EDAPS" Consortium earned from excise holograms ten years ago. At that time, producers and consumers of excise products were forced to pay an additional 515 million hryvnias per year, which at the then exchange rate amounted to 47 million dollars.

The organizers of the scheme can refute our calculations if they show the tapes themselves. At the moment, they did not want to make public "Prozorro" what they call "a running meter of a holographic security element for excise tax stamps". And it will obviously have to be refuted because of the toxic background of the schemers.

From the name of the supplier – "Polly-Service" – it is obvious that the beneficiary of the implemented scheme will be the same group of the "EDAPS" Consortium. The representatives of which earned money from a similar excise scheme from 2004 to 2013. At that time, officials with manic zeal invented new security marks for all the documents in the world, significantly increasing their value for citizens. Of course, for some reason, only the "EDAPS" Private Consortium could produce them.

We will remind, at that time the excise stamps were patented by the company "YUS-design", which belonged to the head of the "EDAPS" Consortium Yuriy Sidorenko. In addition, 20% of the consortium belonged to Viktor Medvedchuk, and the "EDAPS" Consortium had multibillion-dollar contracts with by the State Enterprise Polygraph Plant "Ukraine" to supply it with patented holograms, passport covers, etc. It is worth noting that Yuriy Sydorenko was the owner of the patent for the design of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine and a number of other state documents.

It took years of struggle with the direct participation of ZN.UA in order to dislodge the "EDAPS" Consortium from cash flows in this industry. But in 2021, this concern returned. In the fall of 2021, the Office of the President of Ukraine approved a change in the leadership of the State Enterprise "Ukraine Polygraph Complex", Tetyana Bondarenko became the director of the state-owned enterprise. According to "Economic Truth", she is a friend of Iryna Obydenko. Obydenko is a former director of the "EDAPS" Consortium, currently the president of Industrial Innovation Group (IIG), co-owner of Innovation-Industrial Group LLC, which is also the owner of Polly-Service LLC. They will earn from the new holographic excise taxes.

The company "Polly-Service" now receives the lion's share of contracts of the state combine at a higher price than with its predecessors. For example, last year it raised the currency prices for passport covers supplied by a French company by 10%.

The founders of the "Innovative Industrial Group" also include Tariyam Matar Mohamed Tariyam from the United Arab Emirates, where Yuriy Sydorenko lives. Tariyam was also a beneficiary of Tradenergoresurs LLC, which in 2021 was the largest importer of electricity from Belarus to Ukraine. The appearance of the "EDAPS" Consortium and the Arab Tariyam in the electrical scheme was associated with the names of David Arahamia (head of the "Servant of the People" faction, promoted IIG initiatives), Artur Grants (connection with Belarus), Andrii Ivanchuk (people's deputy from the company "Dovira", comrade the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal).

It is worth noting that this entire scheme was made possible thanks to the agreement with the top leadership of the state. On the one hand, on June 19, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal signed the necessary changes to government regulations. And on June 29, the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, with the help of the "Servant of the People" faction and its satellites, adopted draft law No. 8287. According to USAID/UK aid, someone made changes to the bill in the second reading on the eve of the vote, and the voted version postpones the launch of electronic excise stamps and Track and Trace technology. This technology should make it impossible to falsify excise taxes in general. However, the launch of this system has now been postponed to 2026, allegedly due to the unpreparedness of the industry, which in fact the manufacturers do not confirm. The organizers of the scheme with holograms, thanks to the efforts of the authorities, will be able to earn from it for at least three more years. They will be able to earn 9 billion hryvnias per year.

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