2017-11-08T18:20:00+02:00 Politics 2024-09-15T12:03:53+03:00

Ukrainian news

NACB Investigating Oschadbank Officials Over Disappearance Of USD 156.8 Million From MP Onyschenko Company's F

NACB Investigating Oschadbank Officials Over Disappearance Of USD 156.8 Million From MP Onyschenko Company's Frozen Accounts

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NACB) has launched an investigation against employees of the State Savings Bank (Oschadbank) in connection with the disappearance of USD 156.8 million from frozen bank accounts belonging to a company controlled by Member of Parliament Oleksandr Onyschenko (independent).

The press service of the NACB announced this in a statement, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to the statement, the accounts of Onyschenko-controlled Quickpace Limited with Oschadbank was frozen in May 2016 as part of the investigation of the "gas case" against Onyschenko.

USD 156.8 million and UAH 218,100 were held in the bank account.

The explanation given for the disappearance of the funds from the bank account was that they were transferred into the state budget on the basis of a decision by the Kramatorsk municipal court (Donetsk region), which ordered confiscation of funds belonging to former president Viktor Yanukovych and members of his entourage.

Officials of the bank did not provide any information confirming transfer of these funds into the state budget during their interrogation, citing a ban on disclosure of this information.

As a result, NACB detectives launched a criminal investigation against Oschadbank officials on suspicion of taking unlawful actions in relation to frozen assets.

The NACB has rejected the claim by Member of Parliament Tetiana Chornovol (People's Front) that these funds have been returned to Onyschenko.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, the Kramatorsk municipal court (Donetsk region) ordered confiscation of USD 1.5 billion in bank accounts of former president Yanukovych and his associates on March 28 as part of a case against former director of the Gas Ukraine 2020 company Arkadii Kashkin.

The court's decision entered into force one month later, and the confiscated funds were transferred into the state budget.

In May, seven Cyprus-based companies that held domestic government loan bonds (OVDPs) appealed against the Kramatorsk municipal court's decision that authorized the government to confiscate the USD 1.5 billion, but the appeal court refused to consider the appeal.