MOSCOW: Companies that chose to pay ransoms to computer malware in the course of a major cyberattack in Russia and Ukraine can use the payments to reduce their corporate income tax, practitioners told Bloomberg BNA. However, it may prove difficult for businesses to collect enough documents to make a convincing case to the tax authorities.
On June 27, more than 80 companies in Russia and Ukraine came under a cyberattack of an unprecedented scale. Other organizations were also disrupted across the globe. The organizations were attacked by malicious encryption software Petya, which spread through the tax accounting software developed by Ukranian company M.E.Doc. The malware encrypted computer files and required a payment of $300 in cryptocurrency to restore access to them. Among those affected, according to computer forensics company Group-IB, were Ukrainian telecom operators, banks, and state enterprises including Ukrtelecom, railroad corporation Ukrzaliznytsia and the federal postal service. In Russia, among the affected were oil giants Rosneft and Bashneft. Rosneft did not respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg BNA.
