The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General are investigating a case of alleged fraud exceeding 100 million hryvnias. This announcement was made on May 1, 2023, highlighting new developments in the activities of a former beneficiary owner of one of Ukraine’s largest banks.
According to the investigation, in 2014, the individual and associates unlawfully acquired over 100 million hryvnias from a financial institution under their control. The financial scheme involved diverting credit resources while disguising their movement as legitimate financial transactions. Companies linked to the suspect received loans from the bank without adequate collateral or genuine business purposes. Subsequently, these assets were funneled through various legal and physical entities to create the illusion of normal financial circulation.
The prosecution alleges that part of these assets eventually ended up in the personal accounts of the scheme’s organizers under the guise of contract fulfillment. Notably, in December 2014, hundreds of millions of hryvnias were transferred to the suspect’s personal account from a company he controlled.
The SBU has determined that these actions resulted in losses exceeding 100 million hryvnias for the bank, with the exact amount still being clarified in the ongoing pre-trial investigation. Preliminary findings suggest that the source of these funds was the bank’s credit resources, which were utilized in a scheme known as “recrediting” through a chain of controlled companies. The case may also involve bank officials, executives of the affiliated companies, and other entities that facilitated the movement of assets and documentation for these operations.
Investigators from the SBU and prosecutors have formally notified the former beneficiary owner of one of Ukraine’s largest banks of suspicion under Article 190, Part 4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which deals with large-scale fraud committed by an organized group. The penalties for this offense can include imprisonment for up to 12 years. The investigation is still ongoing.
While the authorities have not disclosed the suspect’s name, circumstances suggest that it refers to Igor Kolomoisky, the former beneficiary owner of PrivatBank. He has not publicly commented on the new allegations.
Kolomoisky has been in custody since September 2, 2023, following his arrest on charges of fraud and money laundering. This case pertains to his alleged misappropriation of funds from 2013 to 2020, which involved transferring money abroad using the infrastructure of controlled banking institutions.
Subsequently, the SBU reported uncovering new facts regarding Kolomoisky’s criminal activities, leading to additional charges against him for illegal actions with documents, misappropriation of property, and laundering money obtained through criminal means.
In May 2024, authorities charged Kolomoisky with orchestrating a contract killing of the director of a law firm in 2003. Based on new evidence, he faces the possibility of life imprisonment. The investigation claims that Kolomoisky commissioned the murder due to the director’s failure to annul and invalidate decisions made during the general shareholders’ meeting of the open joint-stock company, Dniprospetsstal. Kolomoisky denies any involvement in the crime.
Ukrainian authorities are probing a fraud case involving over 100 million hryvnias linked to a former bank owner. Igor Kolomoisky faces multiple charges, including large-scale fraud and potential involvement in a contract killing.