Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Court hands down 8-year sentence in UAH 800 mln NBU loan fraud

The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in Ukraine has sentenced the director of a private company involved in a scheme to misappropriate approximately UAH 800 million in loan funds from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to eight years in prison. According to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), the convicted individual agreed to head a company controlled by a criminal organization and facilitated the scheme by concealing its illegal activities.

In 2013, members of the criminal organization conducted transactions involving several companies through the organization's controlled bank, PJSC Real Bank. These transactions artificially weakened the bank's liquidity, leading to the acquisition of a stabilization loan from the NBU, which was secured by property that was seven times its actual value.

After obtaining the funds, the management of PJSC Real Bank, in collusion with other members of the criminal organization, arranged fictitious financial transactions involving controlled enterprises, laundered the money by withdrawing cash, converting it to foreign currency, and transferring it outside Ukraine for nonresident foreign companies.

The court found the defendant guilty under multiple articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to eight years in prison, confiscation of property, a fine, and a three-year ban on holding relevant positions. The court also ordered the defendant to pay over UAH 503 million in damages, partially upholding the NBU's civil claim. The convicted individual has been hiding in temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine since 2014.

Brief written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.