NABU has detained / Photo from nabu.gov.ua
Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank Aval's board Oleksandr Pysaruk, who was first deputy of National Bank Governor Valeriya Gontareva in 2014-2015, has reportedly been detained.
Agents of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on Monday, November 11, detained seven suspects in a case related to Oleh Bakhmatiuk's VAB Bank, including former and current officials of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
They were detained on suspicion of siphoning UAH 1.2 billion, or US$49 million, issued by the NBU to VAB Bank in 2014 as a stabilization loan, NABU's press service said.
"These are former and current employees of the Central Bank, PJSC VAB Bank, and private companies affiliated with the latter's beneficiaries," NABU said.
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They are charged with misappropriation, embezzlement of property or illegal acquisition due to abuse of office (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Neither NABU nor the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) disclosed the names or positions of the detainees.
It became known later that NABU agents had detained Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank Aval's board Oleksandr Pysaruk, according to the Ukrainian Service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, which cited NABU. NABU agents came to the bank's office to detain him.
Pysaruk was first deputy of National Bank Governor Valeriya Gontareva in 2014-2015. He was responsible for banking supervision. Prior to that, since 1997, he had been working for ING Bank. In particular, he worked as a regional head for the bank in Central and Eastern Europe from 2010 to 2014.
JSC Raiffeisen Bank Aval was registered on March 27, 1992. In October 2005, it became part of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International AG. As of June 30, 2019, the Raiffeisen Group owned a 68.28% stake in the bank, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had 30%. The bank's clientele numbers 2.5 million people. Its network consists of 499 branches and offices across Ukraine.