NABU, SAPO plan to serve notice of suspicion to ex-owner of VAB Bank Bakhmatyuk

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) plan to serve a notice of suspicion to former owner of VAB Bank (Kyiv) Oleh Bakhmatyuk and think that other members of the board of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) could be involved in abuse of power during the provision of a stabilization loan to the bank in 2014, the NABU said on its website.

“Investigators have established that more than 15 people may be involved in the implementation of schemes for taking a Hr 1.2 billion stabilization loan from the NBU. Notices of suspicion have already been served to eight of them. The issue of sending notices of suspicion to a number of people, including the beneficial owner of VAB Bank, who are currently time are outside the country, is being decided in a way outlined in the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine for such cases,” the NABU said.

As reported, NABU agents jointly with prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office on November 11-12 officially announced that ex-first deputy governor of the National Bank Oleksandr Pysaruk, member of the NBU Council Mykola Kalensky, ex-director of the NBU banking supervision department Alla Shulha are suspected of taking possession of a stabilization loan issued by the National Bank to VAB Bank in the amount of Hr 1.2 billion. Law enforcers said they would ask the court to detain them or set bail at between Hr 2.5 million and Hr 30 million.

The NBU in November 2014, 40 days after the stabilization loan was granted, declared VAB Bank (Kyiv) insolvent, and on March 20, 2015 decided to revoke its banking license and liquidate it.

According to the NBU, as of early October 2014, VAB Bank ranked 16th in terms of assets (Hr 23.97 billion) among 166 banks operating in the country. Its owner, businessman Bakhmatyuk, the majority shareholder of the agricultural holdings UkrLandFarming and Avangard, repeatedly asked the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the NBU to let him restructure the debt, but the National Bank rejected his offers and now demands immediate recovery of the debt related to the refinancing loan.