16:06 12.12.2017

Hyundai Corp, some Ukrainian banks suffer from fraud, loss estimated at near $30 mln

4 min read
Hyundai Corp, some Ukrainian banks suffer from fraud, loss estimated at near $30 mln

Hyundai Corporation, Ukrsotsbank and some other Ukrainian banks have suffered from a fraud committed by Company Rona LLC (Ivano-Frankivsk). The total loss is estimated at near $30 million, according to a joint press release of Ukrsotsbank and Hyundai Corporation.

"In particular, Hyundai Corporation saw a loss of $6.6 million and EUR 1.2 million, and Ukrsotsbank - $6 million. State-owned and commercial banks suffered with a loss of $11 million and UAH 110 million," the victims of the fraud said in their press release.

According to the press release, co-founders of Company Rona LLC - Roman Semotiuk, Roman Lytvynets and others - using fraudulent documents received loans in financial institutions in the significant amounts. The essence of the fraudulent scheme was that Rona issued loans and signed international contracts for the supply of goods, and the guarantors for loans were companies that provided as collateral real estate facilities that exist only "on paper" and were registered in the public real estate register using counterfeit documents. When the employees of the bank went to inspect the collateral, the scammers placed a sign with the proper address of the collateral. Nexia DC Appraisal Services in the person of Director Yevhen Lupaka appraised the facilities and provided false information to the customers.

According to the report, the Ivano-Frankivsk region prosecutor's office initiated about 20 criminal cases on fabrication of documents, as well as damage in especially large amounts against the co-founder of Rona company Semotiuk, as well as executives of guarantor companies who provided non-existing facilities as collateral. In October 2017, Semotiuk was notified of suspicion and house arrest was chosen for him by court.

According to the press release, fraudulent activities of Rona directed against the international company Hyundai Corporation and banks, as well as the lack of timely and adequate response from law enforcement agencies significantly worsen the investment attractiveness of Ukraine.

"Today it is extremely important to show real steps to protect investors and the progress in the implementation of law enforcement sector reform for an unbiased and prompt investigation of this situation, including search and seizure of the assets of officials and beneficiaries of Rona LLC and other companies involved in the fraudulent scheme. It is also important to investigate not only actions committed by officials, beneficiaries of Rona LLC and related enterprises, but also the actions of employees of the State Registration Service of Ukraine and judges of the Ivano-Frankivsk city court, participating in the implementation of this fraudulent scheme," the victims said.

Acting Board Chairman of Ukrsotsbank Rostyslav Matiash said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday, along with Hyundai Corporation, four banks suffered from this fraudulent scheme, including Ukrsotsbank, which issued a loan of $6 million to Rona in 2014 with a real estate facility used as collateral. After the bank began working with this loan as a non-performing loan, it turned out that the real estate facility does not exist. The bank filed an application with the law enforcement agencies and expects an early and unbiased investigation of the case, the banker said.

Vice President, Head of the legal department of Hyundai Corporation Yeo Young-Chan said at a press conference that Hyundai Corporation began to supply with polymer raw materials to Rona in 2013. In 2015, Rona, having debt to Hyundai Corporation about $5 million, received a commodity loan for about $3 million. The funds were not returned, and in March this year Hyundai Corporation appealed to law enforcement agencies in Ivano-Frankivsk, but the investigation was not conducted - scammers walked quietly around the city. In August, Hyundai Corporation, with the support of the Korean Ambassador to Ukraine, initiated a meeting with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, requesting that the case be investigated in an unbiased manner, in particular, by handing it over to the Main Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, which happened few weeks ago.

"This large-scale fraud could not be organized by one company, Rona ... A fair investigation is very important factor for the return of Hyundai Corporation investments in Ukraine," Young-Chan said.

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