KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI — The former president of the Russian steel producer’s U.S. subsidiary was indicted for hiding millions of dollars in secret Swiss bank accounts, federal officials announced Friday.
Victor Lipukhin, formerly a resident of St. Charles, Ill., was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., for attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns, according to federal authorities.
Officials said Lipukhin, a Russian citizen, hid millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts to dodge paying taxes.
He lived in St. Charles from at least 2001 through mid-2007.
According to the indictment, Lipukhin formerly served as president of Severstal Inc., a subsidiary of AO Severstal, the largest steel producer in Russia.
Lipukhin, a Russian citizen and former lawful permanent U.S. resident, kept about $4,000,000 and $7,500,000 in assets in two bank accounts in Switzerland from 2002 through 2007.
According to the indictment, Lipukhin used fictitious mortgages through an entity called Dapaul Management, controlled by a Canadian attorney, to conceal his purchase of real estate in the U.S. with funds from the Swiss accounts.
This includes his purchase of a historic building at 18 N. Fourth St, in St. Charles, Ill., for $900,000 in the name of Charlestal LLC, a domestic entity controlled by Lipukhin.
Lipukhin also attempted to prevent an automobile dealer from filing a Form 8300 – which is required for certain cash transactions over $10,000 – with the IRS in order to report Lipukhin’s cash payment to buy the automobile.
A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Lipukhin faces up to three years imprisonment on each count.