PrivatBank's three ex-officials, including Yatsenko, suspected of embezzling UAH 136 mln

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova informed about the reconciliation of the suspicion of three former employees from the management of PrivatBank of embezzlement of other people's property through abuse of office, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, on an especially large scale, and in an official forgery, which led to wasting UAH 136 million.

"The investigation established that in December 2016 three former officials of the bank, understanding that PJSC PrivatBank, taking into account the position of the owners of its significant participation, will soon be declared insolvent and will come under the control of the government, and realizing that due to with this, from December 19, 2016, they will lose control over the bank's funds, prepared and implemented a criminal plan to waste the financial institution's funds. It consisted in the illegal accrual and payment of additional remuneration, an indexed commission due to the increase in the hryvnia exchange rate against the U.S. dollar in favor of the related bank of a legal entity under the existing deposit agreements with it. At the same time, the payment of such a commission was not provided for by these deposit agreements and additional agreements to them," Venediktova said on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

In addition, according to her, the accrual and payment of remuneration were planned in violation of the requirements of the law on banks and banking activities, which established that transactions carried out with persons related to the bank cannot provide conditions, are not current market ones.

"To cover up the embezzlement of Privatbank's funds, three former officials decided to make these banking operations look legitimate, referring to the allegedly made and agreed decision of the bank's credit committee in 2014, which was actually forged 'retroactively,' and the decision of the bank's credit committee of December 16, 2016, which allegedly made a decision to apply the accrual and payment of an indexed commission on deposits in favor of a legal entity associated with the bank as part of the order 'on the sale of a new deposit with payment of remuneration due to the increase of the hryvnia against the U.S. dollar' over 2013. Thus, the suspects inflicted losses in the amount of UAH 136 million," Venediktova said.

The prosecutor general did not give the names of the former employees of the bank who saw suspicion, but said that among them was the former first deputy head of the board of PrivatBank, who on Monday tried to leave Ukraine on a private jet in the direction of Vienna, but his plane was landed at Boryspil airport, and the former official was detained.

Sources in law enforcement agencies told Interfax-Ukraine that they are talking about former first deputy head of PrivatBank Volodymyr Yatsenko.

In addition, according to Venediktova, the suspicion was reported to the former head of the bank's board and head of the financial management department, who at the same time held the position of first deputy head of the board of a legal entity associated with the bank.

"On February 22, 2021, I agreed on a report on the suspicion of three former officials PJSC PrivatBank of embezzling someone else's property through abuse of office, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, on an especially large scale, and of official forgery (Part 5 of Article 191, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1, 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).