Ukraine’s military prosecutor, in a joint operation with the security service, has arrested two Yanukovych-era National Bank of Ukraine officials on suspicion of embezzlement, the NBU announced in a July 14 press release.
In a separate sting, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced the
arrest of two top Odesa Portside Plant officials on suspicion of embezzling
cash from the facility, which is scheduled to be privatized via an auction on July
26.
Former NBU Deputy Chief Aleksey Tkachenko and former Director of Banking
Supervision Roman Yakovlev were arrested on July 13, the press release said,
over alleged involvement in a scheme to steal Hr 787 million ($31.5 million) in
funds intended as a stabilization credit to Real Bank.
According to court documents posted on Facebook by Chief Military
Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios, the two orchestrated the theft between April 2013
and February 2014. The government alleges that the fraud was part of a
conspiracy led by now-exiled billionaire Serhiy Kurchenko, along with former
National Bank of Ukraine Governor Igor Sorkin.
In the press release, the SBU says that the alleged crime ring was linked
to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
Kurchenko’s Real Bank and Brokbizneskbank were among the first financial
institutions to collapse following the 2014 EuroMaidan revolution.
According to Ukrainiska Pravda, one of those arrested was detained after
returning from abroad.
Military Prosecutor Matios said that the government planned to file the
case “before autumn.”
An NBU spokeswoman told the Kyiv Post in an emailed statement that the
central bank had given prosecutors documents related to the case.
Odesa troubles
Nazar Kholodnytskyi, Ukraine’s top anti-corruption prosecutor, announced the
charges in the Odesa Portside Plant case at a press conference on July 14.
“There’s enough evidence that’s been collected for a criminal investigation
into the embezzlement of state-enterprise funds on a large scale,
benefitting two relatively high-ranking officials,”
Kholodnitskyi said.
Odesa Portside Plant Supervisory Board Chief Serhiy Pereloma and First Deputy
Chief Mykola Schurikov were arrested in the case, allegedly for taking up to Hr
205 million in embezzled funds through a fraudulent gas purchasing scheme.
Pereloma, who was simultaneously on the management board of state gas
company Naftogaz, arranged a scheme by which majority state-owned company
Ukrnafta would sell natural gas at inflated prices to the Odesa Portside Plant,
Kholodnitskyi alleged.
The prosecutor also said that proceeds from the fraud were divided between
the two suspects as well as with Ukrnafta itself.
“This is one of the first schemes,” said NABU Chief Artem Sytnyk at the
conference. “But there are still many schemes.”
Ukrnafta did not reply to a request for comment.
