VAB Bank

Systemic bank of Bakhmatyuk, which went bankrupt a month after receiving refinancing from the NBU — the loan was withdrawn even before closure

PJSC "VAB Bank" was among the largest banks in Ukraine — one of the systemically important financial institutions of the country. The beneficial owner is agricultural billionaire Oleg Bakhmatyuk. In October 2014, the bank received a stabilization loan from the NBU for UAH 1.2 billion under the personal guarantee of Bakhmatyuk and secured by property — the value of which, according to NABU data, was overvalued 25 times relative to the real value. The money was intended to support the stable operation of the bank. However, on November 20, 2014 — exactly one month after receiving the loan — the NBU declared the bank insolvent; on March 20, 2015, the bank was liquidated. At the time of closure, the loan had already been withdrawn.

Conspiracy with the first deputy head of the NBU, UAH 7.9 billion debt, and indictment to the High Anti-Corruption Court

NABU established that Bakhmatyuk acted in collusion with the first deputy head of the NBU, Oleksandr Pysaruk — who signed the loan agreement without verifying the real value of the collateral and without monitoring the use of funds. Suspicions were raised against Bakhmatyuk, Pysaruk, and the former bank chairman Denys Maltsev. On January 30, 2025, the Pechersky Court ordered Bakhmatyuk to pay the NBU UAH 1.221 billion; on January 22, the Supreme Court confirmed the recovery of an additional UAH 1.8 billion debt under the "Financial Initiative." The total amount of NBU's court claims against Bakhmatyuk is about UAH 7.9 billion. In March 2024, NABU and SAP handed over an indictment to the High Anti-Corruption Court. The Office of the Prosecutor General refused to sign the extradition request from Austria, citing "procedural violations."