Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Yevhen Yenin has denied reports of the alleged disappearance of funds that were arrested under the procedure of special confiscation as part of the investigation into the so-called "gas case" on the accounts of Quickpace in Oschadbank and then the parliament determined the procedure for further use of this money.

"The Kramatorsky court, while convicting one of the participants of a criminal organization, issued a ruling applying a special confiscation of the money that was on the accounts of Quickpace in Oschadbank. The funds, in the amount of $156 million and about UAH 218,000, were directly transferred by Oschadbank to the account of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine. The further fate of these funds was determined by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which adopted this summer a law on changes to the state budget, determining the targeted use of these funds," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday, November 8.

Yenin noted that the Prosecutor General's Office did not understand the purpose of lengthy interrogations of Oschadbank management by representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), since the information on the seized funds "could easily be obtained by applying directly to the State Treasury Service."

He said that according to the law, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) should make a respective assessment of the NABU's actions and that the investigation of the Prosecutor General's Office would take into account the information about the confiscated funds of Quickpace for "determining the role of Mr. Onyschenko [MP Oleksandr Onyschenko who left the country] in this situation."

Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, in turn, also denied statements by the NABU about the alleged disappearance of funds from Oschadbank.

"I have just talked with Mr. Sytnyk [NABU Director Artem Sytnyk] regarding an unpleasant situation. It is a well-known fact that about $1.5 billion was transferred from Oschadbank and other state banks to the state budget as part of the implementation of the decision on special confiscation of funds and property of the criminal group of [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych. We have certificates from Oschadbank that they transferred these funds, certificates of the treasury service that these funds were transferred to the state budget," Lutsenko told journalists in Kyiv on November 8.

He said that the NABU's allegations about the alleged disappearance of funds from Oschadbank "are untrue."

"It's not worth making such serious accusations... The entire activity of detectives who so aggressively question Mr. Pyshny [Oschadbank Board Chairman Andriy Pyshny]... indicates only one thing: people are looking for the text of the court decision, but the text of the court decision is lawfully kept secret, and the removal of secrecy by the court is not allowed," he said.

"Therefore, the desire of certain individuals who want to begin the procedure for returning these funds in London and receive the text of the decision of the Kramatorsk court is ruined," Lutsenko said, adding that, in his opinion, national interests are above any other interests.

When asked whether this means that NABU detectives are somehow working for Yanukovych's lawyers, Lutsenko said: "No, according to my version, NABU detectives demand that Oschadbank head Pyshny provide the documents that could be necessary for attacks on Ukraine. Let their leadership figure out why they do it."

On November 8, the NABU's press service reported that the bureau was trying to determine the fate of about $156.8 million and UAH 218,100, which belonged to Quickpace Limited, a company connected with MP Onyschenko, and which were arrested in the accounts of Oschadbank as part of the so-called "gas case" and that NABU detectives were conducting an investigation against Oschadbank officials.

"NABU detectives established that as of October 17, 2017, despite the existing encumbrances (an uncontested court decision on their arrest), these funds disappeared from the accounts in PJSC State Savings Bank of Ukraine. The bank explained this situation by the fact that these funds were allegedly transferred to Ukraine's state budget on the basis of the verdict of the Kramatorsk Court of Donetsk region, which approved an agreement on the recognition of guilt with citizen Arkadiy K.," the report says.

"During the interrogation, officials did not provide any information in support of the transfer of these amounts to the state budget, referring to the prohibition to disclose this information. Thus, it is not yet known where and under what circumstances the funds were transferred," the NABU said.

As a result, NABU detectives registered criminal proceedings on Oschadbank officials committing unlawful actions with property that was seized. The pre-trial investigation continues.

The NABU also denied statements made by MP Tetiana Chornovol about the bureau's alleged intentions to return any funds to MP Onyschenko, who is suspected of organizing a "gas scheme" and inflicting about UAH 3 billion worth of losses to the state.

Oschadbank denied the NABU's accusations about the disappearance of about $156.8 million and UAH 218,100.