NBU sends request to International Investment Bank as for spending of Sprava Hromad and Poroshenko Charity Foundation on AFU – European Solidarity
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) sent a request to the International Investment Bank (IIB) regarding why the Poroshenko Charity Fund and the public organization Sprava Hromad, whose accounts are located at the IIB, spend so much money on assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the website of the European Solidarity party reported on Thursday.
"We find it strange to hear about the requests why our accounts receive money from the Poroshenko family's enterprises. We are also asked why we finance defense enterprises? Why do we finance the production of unmanned aerial vehicles? The fund finances the defense industry, in particular, the production of electronic warfare systems, counterintelligence systems. This does not contradict the law of Ukraine. We also finance the development of the latest innovative military technologies," said Olha Rybalko, executive director of the Poroshenko Foundation, at a briefing.
She noted that over the past two days, the fund has paid bills for more than UAH 30 million, which were directed towards the production of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones.
European Solidarity, in turn, reported that since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Poroshenko Foundation and Sprava Hromad have transferred drones and equipment worth more than UAH 7 billion to the troops.
Co-founder of NGO Sprava Hromad Vitaliy Haidukevych noted that "the logic of the question is unclear - why did we start helping more: because there is a war in the country and the needs of the army are not getting smaller."
"We were asked why we are spending money on the Armed Forces of Ukraine and why in the spring of 2023 this volume of donations increased. Because the state did not cope with its task. This need, in this case the FPV, was the basic need of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the spring of 2023. This was not the first precedent, at the beginning of the full-scale operation the state was unable to provide the army with vehicles, in particular, four-wheel drive trucks. Sprava Hromad purchased almost 300 four-wheel drive trucks with the help of the Poroshenko Foundation, repaired, restored and delivered them," he said.
Lawyer Illia Novikov interprets such a request as pressure on the funds, which leads to a reduction in assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"We will take certain measures, we will ask questions to the Security Service of Ukraine, so that the official of the National Bank of Ukraine who signed the relevant documents, so that this activity is checked. We will at least ask such a question and see what the reaction will be from law enforcement agencies," he said.