NABU completes investigation into ex-owner of PrivatBank
NABU and SAPO have opened case files on suspicion of former ultimate beneficial owner of PJSC CB PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky and five members of the group he organized in misappropriating bank funds worth over UAH 9.2 billion, the NABU press service reports.
"The investigation established that in January-March 2015, the ultimate beneficiary of the bank, at that time the head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, developed a plan to seize PrivatBank funds in order to further finance a controlled offshore company and increase own share in the bank's authorized capital. To do this, the bank was artificially obliged to pay the specified controlled company over UAH 9.2 billion under the pretext of allegedly repurchasing its own bonds at an inflated value," the report states.
Later, as law enforcement officers established, part of the amount of over UAH 446 million was transferred to the accounts of three related legal entities under the guise of securities purchase and sale transactions, and later to the accounts of two more.
"Ultimately, the funds were transferred to the personal account of the ultimate beneficiary of PrivatBank. He disposed of them at his own discretion - he contributed them to the authorized capital of PrivatBank in compliance with the requirements of the National Bank of Ukraine," the NABU noted.
Currently, the suspects include the former ultimate beneficial owner of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoisky, who was the organizer of the group, as well as the former chairman of the board of PrivatBank, the former deputy head of the direction - director of the bank's interbank dealing department, who was simultaneously a trusted representative of a non-resident company associated with PrivatBank, the former deputy chairwoman of the board of PrivatBank - director of the treasury, the former head of the department for support of interbank operations of the PrivatBank treasury, and the former deputy head of the department for servicing LORO accounts of correspondent banks, non-residents of the PrivatBank head office.
The actions of the individuals were qualified under Articles 191, 209, 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"This episode is the fourth in the case of embezzlement of PrivatBank funds. In October last year, NABU and SAPO recognized that detectives had collected enough evidence in three previous episodes to prove the guilt of the suspects and opened the investigation materials. On September 6, 2023, the indictment was sent to court," NABU emphasized.
The bureau recalled that earlier, in February 2021, NABU and SAPO informed the former bank owners about suspicion of embezzlement of over UAH 136 million through an insurance payment scheme. Within a month, the suspicions were updated with a new episode, adding to the embezzlement of almost $315 million (about UAH 8.2 billion) through a letter of credit scheme. In September 2022, the list of crimes incriminated to former managers of PrivatBank was supplemented by another embezzlement of UAH 85.2 million.
The PrivatBank case is one of the largest in the history of anti-corruption agencies.
As reported, earlier, among the accusations of the SBU against the NABU, there was an alleged willingness of individual NABU employees to assist the former owner of PrivatBank, Kolomoisky.