ICU Group has denied the information spread in mass media about the participation of its managing director Makar Paseniuk in the negotiations on the sale of the Ukrainian branch of Sberbank of Russia.

"Neither Paseniuk nor ICU Group have ever been and are consultants to the sellers or buyers in the process of selling the subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia in Ukraine, which has lasted for two years. Nobody in ICU Group is familiar, has met or is doing business with Ihor Voronov, who, according to mass media, participated in the relevant negotiations," reads a letter ICU Group sent to Interfax-Ukraine.

The group also refuted its participation in the sale of other Ukrainian banks with Russian state capital, referring to the introduction of sanctions against their parent structures by the United States and the EU. According to ICU, these sanctions restrict or prohibit operations not only with the shares of the banks being under sanctions, namely VTB, Sberbank, VEB, but also with most of the shares of these banks' subsidiaries in Ukraine. In particular, the group believes sanctions could apply to 73% of the shares in Sberbank, up to 81% of those in VTB Bank (Ukraine), up to 76% of BM Bank and up to 80% of Prominvestbank (PIB).