The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has opened criminal proceedings into the alleged embezzlement of funds by former officials of the corporate nongovernmental pension fund of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

According to a Wednesday SBU press release, the officials created an illegal scheme for embezzling funds and sent over UAH 600 million to the accounts of certain commercial firms. The funds were sent to buy securities of issuers who exhibited signs of being fake companies.

The SBU established that in 2013-2014 a pension fund official bought Ekovite LLC (Kyiv region) bonds worth over UAH 77 million through the Perspektiva Stock Exchange (Dnipropetrovsk). The officials allegedly knew about non-liquidity of the securities as they personally controlled the operation of the issuer. The funds were then legalized through private companies which were under the control of the officials.

Over 10,000 employees, participants in the NBU nongovernmental pension fund, faced large financial losses.

The SBU opened criminal proceedings under Articles 191 and 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.