The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has served notices of suspicion in absentia to ex-owner of VAB Bank Oleh Bakhmatiuk and ex-board chairman of the bank Denys Maltsev in the VAB Bank case, according to a posting on the website of the NABU.

"On November 13, 2019, NABU detectives under the procedural guidance of the SAPO [Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office] prosecutors notified the actual owner and ex-chairman of the board of VAB Bank that they are suspected of embezzling a UAH 1.2 billion stabilization loan provided by the National Bank of Ukraine to the financial institution. Since the location of these persons has not yet established that the written notices of suspicion were handed in the manner specified by Articles 135, 278 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine (sent by mail and delivered to the housing and operational organization at the place of registration of suspects)," the NABU said in a statement.

Thus, the circle of suspects in taking the stabilization loan granted by the NBU to this bank increased to ten people, eight of whom were notified of the suspicion on November 11-12.

According to the report, investigators established that in October 2014, VAB Bank, classified as troubled one, asked the NBU to provide it with a stabilization loan secured by real estate. VAB Bank did not submit all the documents required for this, in particular, the financial recovery program. The NBU board, contrary to the requirements of the legislation, agreed to provide a stabilization loan. At the same time, the value of real estate, which was pledged to the National Bank under the stabilization loan, was almost 25 times overstated by drawing up fake appraisal reports. An examination conducted during the pretrial investigation found that the real value of the pledged property is UAH 72.62 million, with UAH 1.8 billion announced by VAB Bank. Nevertheless, knowing about the overpriced value of the collateral and the absence of all the required documents, NBU officials provided a stabilization loan to VAB Bank. Moreover, earlier the bank received UAH 3 billion of loans from the NBU and did not return them. Forty days later, in November 2014, the NBU declared VAB Bank insolvent. VAB Bank did not repay the stabilization loan granted for two years.