NBU recognizes reputation of non-sanctioned shareholders of Sense Bank as faulty, imposes ban on right to vote on 100% of its shares
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) recognized the faulty business reputation of the shareholders of Sense Bank (formerly Alfa-Bank), ABH Holdings S.A. (57.6006% stake in Sense Bank) and its subsidiaries ABH Ukraine Limited (42.3994%), which, unlike their beneficiaries Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and Andrey Kosogov, are not under sanctions.
"In accordance with the decisions of the National Bank, a temporary, until the violation is removed, a ban on the use of voting rights on 287 262 475 484 ordinary registered shares of the bank, which make up 100% of the charter capital, has been applied," the NBU said on Tuesday.
According to the bank, the basis for recognition of the goodwill of ABH Holdings S.A. was its participation in Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V. (Netherlands), which was declared bankrupt on April 22, 2022, as well as signs of the faulty reputation of Kosogov, Fridman and Aven.
ABH Holdings S.A. minority shareholders are Unicredit S.p.a. with 9.9% and the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research with 3.8736%.
As for the faulty reputation of ABH Ukraine Limited, the NBU additionally pointed out the presence of certain signs of an unsatisfactory financial standing.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, Sense Bank announced the signing on March 3 of a memorandum with potential investors from Poland who are interested in entering the Ukrainian market and sending their letters to the NBU leadership and the Deputy Head of the President's Office. The agency said that was about the Grupa Polsat Plus corporation of one of the richest people in Poland, Zygmunt Solorz-Żak.
Possible ways for an investor to enter is either participation in an additional issue of bank shares, or the purchase of shares of its non-sanctioned direct shareholders. However, the current ban on 100% of the vote will probably not allow this to occur.
The NBU previously confirmed the receipt of a letter from the potential investor and said it had provided a "comprehensive answer on the merits," and also added that in order to agree on a significant participation, it is necessary to submit a full package of documents defined by the law on banks and the NBU regulations.
In addition, the regulator said given the EU Council sanctions imposed on Fridman and Aven, as well as the NSDC sanctions applied to Fridman, Aven and Kosogov, all these persons are deprived of the right to dispose of their own assets and alienate them in any way until the sanctions are lifted.
