Former NBU Head Shevchenko Suspected of Creating a Criminal Organization, – NABU

The former head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Shevchenko, is suspected of forming a criminal organization, according to NABU.

The National Anticorruption Bureau explained why the suspicion for former NBU head Kyryl Shevchenko was updated, which he announced yesterday, noting that the new article does not provide for bail and envisages imprisonment for up to 15 years.

This is stated in NABU's press release.

"NABU and SAPO updated the suspicion of the former chairman of the board of Ukrgazbank, the former head of the National Bank, Kyryl Shevchenko. He is now suspected of forming a criminal organization and laundering funds," NABU said.

In addition to Shevchenko, the same articles were attributed to his former deputy at Ukrgazbank, Denys Chernyshov, and to the former director of the department for working with corporate VIP clients of the state bank, Oleksiy Lyutyi.

According to investigators, the leadership of Ukrgazbank, possessing information about contracts with large clients for placing funds, ensured the fabrication of a number of documents, according to which 52 individuals and legal entities allegedly helped to attract clients to the bank, and for such "assistance" for 2014–2019 years they were credited with agent fees totaling over 206 million UAH.

Moreover, the accounts to which the fees were paid were opened only in Ukrgazbank JSC. This ensured that members of the criminal organization could access, control, and dispose of the mentioned funds.

"The members of the criminal organization among the bank's employees had the ability to withdraw funds independently, both at the bank's cash desks without the persons on whom these accounts were opened and by transferring funds to other accounts. That is, the payouts of the fees were made to accounts of fictitious persons, while full disposal of the funds was carried out by the members of the criminal organization," NABU noted.

In this way, the perpetrators embezzled more than 206 million UAH.

At the same time, a number of financial operations were carried out to legitimize and mask the unlawful origin of these funds.

"The money was used for personal enrichment, for paying "kickbacks" to managers of state-owned enterprises for placing large sums of money in the bank, and for financing other unlawful activities," NABU said.