The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) have submitted an indictment to court against the former ultimate beneficial owner of PJSC CB PrivatBank and five former senior employees. The suspects are accused of embezzling more than ₴9.2 billion from the financial institution.
According to investigators, between January and March 2015, the bank’s former owner devised a plan to siphon funds to finance a controlled offshore company and increase his own share in the bank’s charter capital. To execute the scheme, he recruited five high-ranking bank officials, including the former chairman of the board, as well as heads of the treasury, interbank dealing, and account management departments.
The scheme involved artificially creating an obligation for PrivatBank to pay over ₴9.2 billion to a controlled offshore company. The funds were transferred under the guise of repurchasing the bank’s own bonds at inflated prices through forged financial documents.
«The scheme consisted of an organized group artificially creating a bank obligation to pay over ₴9.2 billion to a controlled company for the alleged buyback of its own bonds at inflated prices…»
A portion of the stolen funds—exceeding ₴446 million—was laundered through a series of financial transactions involving controlled entities disguised as securities trading. The funds were ultimately transferred to the personal account of the beneficial owner and subsequently injected back into the bank’s charter capital to formally meet the requirements of PrivatBank’s Financial Recovery Program.
The remaining stolen funds, totaling nearly ₴8.8 billion, were disposed of by the co-conspirators at their own discretion. The indictment has been officially forwarded to the court for trial on the merits, where the defendants face lengthy prison sentences and property confiscation.