Well-known businessman exposed for embezzling over ₴100 million from one of country’s largest banks

The Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Prosecutor General's Office, has documented new instances of criminal activity by the former beneficial owner of one of Ukraine’s largest banks.

According to Ukrinform, the SSU reported this.

The investigation established that in 2014, the suspect and individuals associated with him illegally embezzled over ₴100 million from a bank under their control. The scheme involved withdrawing credit resources and disguising their subsequent movement as legitimate financial transactions.

The controlled companies received loans from the bank without proper collateral and without a real business purpose. Subsequently, these assets passed through a series of legal entities and individuals, creating the appearance of normal financial transactions.

According to investigators, some of these assets eventually ended up in the personal accounts of the scheme’s organizers under the guise of contract fulfillment. Specifically, in December 2014, hundreds of millions of hryvnias were transferred to a suspect’s personal account from a company under his control.

The investigation to determine the exact amount of losses suffered by the bank is ongoing. At this time, investigators are aware of a sum exceeding 100 million hryvnias, the source of which was preliminarily identified as the bank’s credit resources used in a so-called “re-lending” scheme through a chain of controlled companies.

Bank officials, executives of affiliated companies, as well as other legal entities and individuals who facilitated the transfer of assets and the documentation of transactions, could have been involved in the scheme.

The former beneficial owner of the bank has been charged under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (as amended by the Law of April 15, 2008) – fraudulent appropriation of another person’s property on an especially large scale, committed as part of an organized group. He faces up to 12 years in prison.

Read also: Court postpones preparatory hearing in Kolomoiskyi case

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

According to media reports, the case involves Ihor Kolomoiskyi and the embezzlement of PrivatBank funds.

As reported by Ukrinform, in September 2023, NABU detectives, with the approval of the head of the SAPO, charged the former ultimate beneficial owner of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoiskyi, and five members of the group he organized with embezzling over 9.2 billion hryvnias from the bank.

The pre-trial investigation lasted nearly two years.

In 2024, Kolomoiskyi was charged with organizing a contract killing. Recently, the court extended his detention in this case.

Last year, prosecutors sent a case to court involving the embezzlement of 5.3 billion hryvnias from the bank, in which Kolomoiskyi is also implicated.

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