How a failed intelligence officer became the Family's banker

Back in early June, it seemed Delta Bank would collapse, and its owner would be forced to while away his time in places where only armored doors resembled bank premises. However, an elusive spy

Nikolay Lagoon

Lagun "survived" again. Yanukovych's men, Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Kurchenko, extended a helping hand.

MORE ABOUT HIM: Criminal schemes of banker Nikolai Lagun (investigation)

So, let's get acquainted with our hero. Official sources and the all-knowing Wikipedia report that Nikolai Lagun was born on February 16, 1973, in the village of Semenovka, Mensky District, Chernihiv Oblast. However, longtime acquaintances of the banker recall that for some reason he was embarrassed by his rural origins and claimed to have been born in Kyiv. Nothing else is known about the millionaire's childhood and youth. Where he studied, how...

Lagun made a more "clear" appearance in the annals of history in 1988, when he entered the Kyiv Frunze Higher Combined Arms Command School, studying intelligence. He apparently joined at age 15! But he never became a full-fledged officer – he dropped out after three years and transferred to the Kyiv State University of Economics, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. This life's maneuver alone testifies to Lagun's ingenuity and foresight. Who needed military personnel in the early 1990s?! But savvy economists – they certainly did! However, his time at the school wasn't entirely wasted. There are no former intelligence officers. As we'll see later...

Don't have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends

Some sources indicate that Lagun's first job was at VABank. In fact, in 1994, he spent several months as an economist in the banking supervision department of the National Bank of Ukraine's Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast office. It was then that he made his first important connections with NBU employees, who subsequently assisted him on numerous occasions. Then came VABank and its currency department. Lagun's then boss, Yaroslav Kolesnik, deputy chairman of the bank's board (1994–1996), recalls "a thin, close-cropped young man with a military bearing, very thoughtful, but a little reserved."

In 1998, Lagun unexpectedly switched jobs (even though he felt comfortable at VABank) – he became head of the money markets department in the treasury department, then head of the treasury at Ukrsotsbank. It was there that he met his business "godfathers" – first Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi and then Viktor Pinchuk. This was a key moment in his biography: in 2002, Lagun became the owner of 10% of Ukrsotsbank shares. Where did a modest young man get the money, much less a large stake in a reputable bank? Rumors abound: some sources claim that Lagun was lent the money by certain "sunny" circles in Russia, while others suggest that someone in Ukraine kept the necessary sum under their mattress and was able to invest it profitably. Thus, Nikolai Lagun went from being a bank clerk to a co-owner of the bank. Two years later, Pinchuk bought the bank for a then-astronomical $250 million. Not only did Lagun become a multimillionaire, but he also became deputy chairman of Ukrsotsbank. It's said that one of Pinchuk's longtime associates, Yulia Chebotareva, longtime First Deputy CEO of EastOne and Chair of the Board of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, played a significant role in this appointment, as did Lagun's wife, who, incidentally, is almost eight years her junior.

THE BIRTH OF DELTA BANK

However, neither his good relationship with Pinchuk nor his family ties with Chebotareva prevented Lagun from leaving Ukrsotsbank, selling his stake, and embarking on the project of his life: in early 2006, he remarkably quickly registered (ahead of all regulatory requirements) and opened Delta Bank. At this point, many market experts are wondering: where exactly did the money for the new bank come from? According to our sources, the situation repeated itself exactly as it had several years earlier: Nikolai was simply given money to manage. It's possible they gave it to him because someone needed their own personal banker, but alas, we'll never know.

Rumor has it that after Lagun founded his bank, he and Pinchuk fell out. Chebotareva began appearing at corporate events without her husband... But what stories won't people tell? The subsequent activities of Lagun and his companies were repeatedly directly linked to many of Leonid Kuchma's son-in-law's companies. It's possible the businessmen split up "for show," to create the appearance of competition during tenders and bidding processes.

It was Pinchuk, they say, who rescued Delta Bank when it plunged headlong into consumer lending. Retail chains such as Foxtrot, MegaMax, Domotekhnika, City.com, Mobilochka, and other Delta Bank partners were experiencing a veritable lending boom in 2006. The bank simply didn't have enough money for its clients. So Pinchuk stepped in. He also helped secure a $20 million loan from Deutsche Bank. After that, Delta Bank's business took off. Within two years, it had significantly displaced traditional, but more conservative, leaders in the consumer lending market—Privatbank, Nadra, and Pravexbank.

However, even bankers with a good "protection" aren't allowed to live in debt all the time. In 2009, Pinchuk demanded repayment of the money—at that point, almost $100 million had accumulated in various accounts. This isn't a critical figure, but for a bank specializing in consumer loans, it was immediately unaffordable. As a reminder, this was the beginning of another crisis. Because of this, Lagun couldn't pay off the debt, and defaults began. According to one theory, the owner of Delta Bank pledged his shares in the insurance company Oranta and his personal collection agency, CCG, to offset the debt. Lagun was also forced to offset the debt with 30% of the bank's shares in the American company Cargill, to which he allegedly also owed money. It's difficult to say how he settled with other creditors, but legends of their discontent still circulate in the market.

BUY AND RULE!

However, Delta Bank's adventures didn't end there: in 2010, it made a dramatic shift in its operations – becoming a universal bank. In addition to its now-familiar consumer lending and collection activities, the bank began acquiring troubled peers that had collapsed after the crisis.

At first, a portion of the assets was acquired – Ukrprombank – for a nearly symbolic UAH 3,1 billion. Then, it all rolled into one: May 2012 – Swedbank (around UAH 1,25 billion); December 2012 – Kreditprombank ($1!). Yes, that last figure is not a mistake. The once-powerful Kreditprombank, which had 19 retail clients and 400 companies, went for $1 (one). True, when buying the bank for $1, Lagun promised to pay off approximately $400 million in debt, but, as far as we know, the debts have still not been paid. Then: September 2013 – Astra Bank was acquired; October 2013 – iBox, which owns a network of 5850 terminals across the country and a client base of 4,7 million users (the company's turnover exceeded $1 billion per year). This was followed by an announcement about the merger of the entire business empire under the Delta Bank brand.

The motivation is clear: Mr. Lagun dreams, apparently, of owning (at least formally) the country's leading bank. But the primary question—where will the money come from—constantly haunts him...

In banking circles and the corridors of power, it was rumored that such a massive purchase at such low prices could not have occurred without the assistance of the National Bank of Ukraine. This included Lagun's complete insider information on the status of the acquisition targets and the NBU's swift handling of paperwork and permitting issues. The "intelligence officer" deftly utilized his spy connections in the country's main bank, established early in his career. Soon, Lagun gained access to the highest levels of government. In particular, he found common ground with the head of the NBU, and later First Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov, and the Minister of Finance. Yuri KolobovDelta Bank became known as nothing less than "family bank"—as the media reported, it channeled significant financial flows from Yanukovych's inner circle, as well as lucrative government programs—for example, the "rollover" of Naftogaz domestic bonds, which generated millions in profits without much effort or risk.

In December 2013, the general meeting of Delta Bank PJSC decided to increase the bank's authorized capital by a total of UAH 1.4 billion. In percentage terms, that's a 62,4% increase! In January 2014, according to Delta Bank's press service, its profit for 2013 amounted to UAH 302,701 million, 3,1 times (!) higher than the previous year's profit (UAH 97,857 million). Overall, the bank was doing well. As was Lagun himself, whose personal fortune by early 2014 was estimated by experts at $130-150 million.

However, Lagun, like his chief curator Arbuzov, understood that simply buying up troubled banks and increasing their authorized capital would not solve the crucial task of becoming number one in Ukraine. They also needed to push aside their main competitors.

UNION OF "FORMERS"

In February, the Yanukovych regime collapsed. Lagun not only lost his reliable protection but, according to sources, also lost significant sums of money, which he had to spend to siphon money from the "family" and several Russian companies out of Ukraine. Furthermore, Delta Bank was added to the list of financial institutions suspected by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (GPU) of financing terrorists in the Donbas. Lagun was also accused of other sins, including the case of the Olympic Park cottage development, in which Lagun's companies were involved. The shareholders collectively lost approximately $60 million. Where it all went remains anyone's guess.

Back in early June, it seemed Delta Bank would collapse, leaving its owner to while away the time in places where only armored doors resembled bank premises. Delta's clients began complaining about payment delays and delays in deposit issuances.

However, the elusive spy Lagun "survived" again. And once again, Yanukovych's men—this time Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Kurchenko—extended a helping hand. How can this be, you might wonder? After all, one is under house arrest in Austria, the other "on the run" in Russia. However, many of the officials who worked for the "family" remained not only in Ukraine but even in their posts—in particular, at the National Bank. And the new government is often not very picky about its appointments. According to sources at Obozrevatel, current head of the National Bank, Valeria Gontareva, will be playing alongside the "former" ones. The campaign coordinator will be Serhiy Lyovochkin, the former head of the Yanukovych-era Administration, who passionately dreams of returning to Ukrainian politics. Despite the pretentiousness of this community and the mutual hostility between the characters, they have common rivals. In the fight against them, the unsinkable ones are ready to do anything.

REFLECTOR

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