Kolomoisky served with new suspicion notice – for fraudulent misappropriation of over UAH 100 mln from PrivatBank
The Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General have exposed a prominent businessman in the fraudulent misappropriation of more than UAH 100 million from one of Ukraine’s largest banks, the SBU said.
"The Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General have documented new episodes of criminal activity by the former beneficial owner of one of Ukraine’s largest banks," the agency said on Telegram Friday.
The statement does not name the businessman or the bank; the reference is to Ihor Kolomoisky and PrivatBank.
According to the SBU, in 2014 the businessman and persons connected to him illegally misappropriated more than UAH 100 million belonging to a financial institution under their control.
"As the investigation established, the financial scheme consisted of withdrawing credit resources and disguising their subsequent movement as legitimate financial operations," the agency said.
According to the case materials, controlled enterprises received loans from the bank without adequate collateral and without any real business purpose. These assets then passed through a series of legal entities and individuals, creating the appearance of ordinary financial circulation, the SBU said.
According to the prosecution, some of these assets ultimately ended up in the personal accounts of the scheme’s organizers under the guise of contract performance.
"In particular, in December 2014, hundreds of millions of hryvnias were transferred to the suspect’s personal account from an enterprise under his control," the statement said.
The SBU stressed: "It has currently been established that as a result of such actions, losses of more than UAH 100 million were inflicted on the bank."
The full amount of losses is being verified in the course of the pre-trial investigation.
According to preliminary data, the source of these funds was the bank’s credit resources, which were used through a chain of controlled companies in a so-called "re-lending" scheme.
Bank officials, heads of controlled enterprises, and other legal entities and individuals who ensured asset transit and documentary processing of transactions may have been involved in implementing the scheme, according to the investigation.
"Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine and prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General served the former beneficial owner of one of Ukraine’s largest banks with a suspicion notice under part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (as amended by the Law of April 15, 2008) – fraudulent misappropriation of another’s property on an especially large scale, committed as part of an organized group," the agency said.
A law enforcement source earlier told Interfax-Ukraine that businessman Ihor Kolomoisky had been served with a new suspicion notice in connection with alleged machinations involving PrivatBank funds.
As reported, Kolomoisky is suspected of large-scale financial fraud, including misappropriation of UAH 9.2 billion from PrivatBank, money laundering and ordering a murder. He has been in custody since September 2023 and has been served with a number of new suspicion notices. An English court ordered him and his partners to pay more than $3 billion for withdrawing $1.9 billion from PrivatBank.
Kolomoisky himself denies all charges.
