Photo from UNIAN
The funds have been cashed with involvement of 23 legal entities.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has explained the application of a UAH 6.08 million (US$214,917) fine to TAScombank owned by Ukrainian businessman Sergiy Tigipko and the removal of a number of the bank's top managers in March 2018 over the cashing of about UAH 3.9 billion ($137.8 million) through the said financial institution.
The regulator received an official statement about its decisions being appealed in court. Therefore, in accordance with the EU Directives on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering, it is making public the grounds for taking these measures, according to the NBU press service.
The central bank has ascertained the fact that 23 legal entities, TAScombank clients, from February to October 2017 withdrew cash from their current accounts to the tune of about UAH 3.9 billion for the purchase of secondary raw materials, while the bank set significantly lower tariffs than those provided for by the relevant tariff package.
Some of the bank customers were registered almost simultaneously. Twenty of them had a small charter capital as of the date of state registration, while part of them had common founders.
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The clients allegedly paid most of the cash to individuals mainly with the Crimean registration, including some of them being defendants in criminal proceedings.
These individuals allegedly collected 612,000 tonnes of recyclable materials, the transportation of which requires 284 Kamaz trucks. However, there are no data on the payments for such transportation services.
The regulator also said that the bank provided inaccurate information.
As reported, TAScombank entered information on the said transactions in the register on the grounds of mandatory monitoring and submitted it to an authorized body, having no suspicions as for money laundering. Moreover, it set preferential tariffs for its clients and did not refuse to conduct transactions.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank in March fined TAScombank for UAH 6.08 million due to risky activities in the field of financial monitoring. The regulator also decided that the person responsible for financial monitoring does not comply with the requirements of the law.
Kyiv-based TAScombank (formerly Business Standard Bank) has been operating on the Ukrainian market since 1989. Its owner, Sergiy Tigipko, held senior positions during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency. Among them were the posts of deputy prime minister and minister of social policy in Mykola Azarov's government. He also served as central bank governor in 2003-2004.