"PrivatBank" case: investigation of three episodes completed

NABU and SAPO have completed the investigation into the top management of PrivatBank suspected of embezzling over UAH 8.4 billion. On Oct. 6, 2022, the case file was disclosed to the defense for perusal.

The suspects are:

• the ex-chairman of PrivatBank (Part 5 Article 191, Part 1, 2 Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the ex-first deputy chairman of PrivatBank (Part 5 Article 191, Part 3 Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the ex-deputy chairman of PrivatBank (Part 5 Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the former head of the Financial Management Department of PrivatBank (Part 5 Article 191, Part 3 Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the former head of the Interbank Operations Department of PrivatBank (Part 5 Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the head of the bank's operational department (Part 5 Article 191, Part 3 Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The prosecution believes NABU have collected enough evidence to take all three episodes of the case to court. They are about the withdrawal of funds from the bank on the eve of its nationalization at the end of 2016 to companies controlled or related to the bank's beneficiaries.

In February 2021, NABU and SAPO notified the bank's ex-officials of suspicion of embezzling more than UAH 136 million through the mechanism of insurance payments. A month later, detectives served suspicion notices in a new episode, probing the embezzlement of almost USD 315 million through a letter of credit scheme. In September 2022, the case got one more episode into the embezzlement of UAH 85.2 million.

The exposed corruption facts are not exhaustive: in a number of episodes, NABU and SAPO continue the investigation. They involve schemes to withdraw more than UAH 130 billion from PrivatBank, which became one of the reasons for its nationalization.

Corruption abuses at PrivatBank were investigated by various law enforcement agencies. However, in the fall of 2019, the Prosecutor General determined NABU as the sole investigation body. At present, the case file contains over 2,500 volumes and is one of the largest in the history of anti-corruption agencies.