Igor Kolomoisky
The country's deep economic crisis, domestic political turmoil, the conflict in Donbas, and the election campaign—all of this combined creates favorable conditions for all sorts of swindlers and fraudsters who like to fish in troubled waters. Perhaps the most prominent of these is rightfully considered the owner of the Privat Group and governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Igor Kolomoisky. While most of his oligarchic rivals are in disgrace, Kolomoisky is working at a Stakhanovite pace, raking in everything and everyone, exploiting the fact that he is a "patriot."
Judging by the speed with which Kolomoisky is seizing strategic assets from the state, receiving preferential terms during tenders, and so on, the owner of PrivatBank fears that this permissive regime will not last long. Furthermore, his desire to maximize profits at the state's expense as quickly as possible is evidence not only of his unbridled thirst for profit: his business empire and PrivatBank are going through hard times.
When Yanukovych was in charge, Kolomoisky was not favored. He was sidelined from key financial flows, and was even forced to "donate" his shares in Ukrnaftaburinia to the previous government. Therefore, Igor Valerievich spent a long time abroad, while Privat was losing weight. Now is an opportune moment, with an opportunity to "improve" his business affairs, but Kolomoisky is doing so exclusively at public expense. Otherwise, there's no point: Privat Group and the bank will go bankrupt if everything is done according to the law.
Journalists caught Kolomoisky red-handed back in the summer, accusing him of siphoning 606 tons of process oil from the Odesa-Brody pipeline without permission, having stored it for 10-15 years. Without it, neither the pipeline nor the Lysychansk oil refinery would be able to operate. The difference between the book value and the current price of the oil is $280 million. The plan was to pump this oil to Privat's Kremenchuk oil refinery, and then sell the fuel to consumers through its network of gas stations or to the army, at market prices, of course. In other words, it was entirely pure profit, since he didn't pay a penny for the siphoned oil.
Kolomoisky managed to get Ukrnafta, a company he controlled (42% of which is owned by PrivatBank members), to sell 320 tons of oil for 540 million hryvnias at a supposed "auction" to which no one else was allowed. The price was 15% undervalued. Kolomoisky sold the oil to himself: the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery. The state-owned enterprise's lost profits from the two auctions amounted to one billion one hundred million hryvnias.
It should also be noted that although Ukrnafta is a state-owned enterprise, it is controlled by Kolomoisky. Over three years, Ukrnafta owes the state UAH 1,3 billion in dividends, earning a total net profit of UAH 3,8 billion. However, the state cannot recover its money: Kolomoisky is blocking the shareholders' meeting. The Cabinet of Ministers was even forced to exclude Ukrnafta from the privatization list, as Ihor Kolomoisky was targeting it, not at market prices, but for pennies.
Currently, one of the Dnipropetrovsk governor's main priorities is to preserve his assets, which have significantly diminished since the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine. Furthermore, some of his businesses located in Russia are also blocked, and Russian courts are planning to seize them. According to an analytical memo addressed to NBU Governor Valeria Gontareva, Ihor Kolomoisky suffered significant losses in Crimea and Donbas, particularly with regard to PrivatBank. Specifically, PrivatBank had two branches, 337 offices, 773 self-service terminals, and 483 ATMs operating in Crimea. These 337 branches represent 13,7% of the remaining assets, and 483 ATMs represent 6,3%. There are 311 branches in the Donetsk region. Assets amount to UAH 2,942 billion. Next: loans to individuals - UAH 2,8 billion, demand deposits of individuals - UAH 1,1 billion, loans issued to legal entities - UAH 0,223 billion, deposits of individuals - UAH 4,522 billion.
In the Luhansk region, the figure is almost half that: 144 branches with assets totaling UAH 1,474 billion. Individual loans total UAH 1,3 billion, individual demand deposits UAH 0,43 billion, corporate loans UAH 0,144 billion, and individual deposits UAH 1,67 billion. Currently, the bank's activity accounts for 42% of the total in the Donetsk region and 14,6% in the Luhansk region. Most of the bank branches in the east are closed.
In April, Ihor Kolomoisky, capitalizing on his reputation as the "savior of the country," secured the largest refinancing for PrivatBank—$1,1 billion. He also left his Crimean property with the NBU as collateral, amounting to 10 billion hryvnias. He essentially handed over to the National Bank lost assets that are unlikely to ever be returned to the state treasury. As has been widely reported, the PrivatBank owner used the tranche he received not to pay interest on deposits, but to buy and sell foreign currency, leading to a sharp devaluation of the hryvnia. Since April, after the "technical" government of Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who promised to "return all the loot," came to power, the oligarchs have openly plundered the country. The profits from speculating on the currency market amount to billions. And all this money has gone to distant offshore accounts in Israel, Switzerland, and Cyprus. Since then, the hryvnia exchange rate has continued to devalue, which the NBU has been unable to stop.
The fact that PrivatBank is facing many problems is easily confirmed by reading customer reviews. One of the largest banks in Ukraine is not known for its integrity. They shamelessly deceive clients and squeeze them out of everything possible, threatening to confiscate their property. And it doesn't matter that this is a direct violation of the law. But even those clients who try to defend their rights in court have no chance. The courts have been bought by Ihor Kolomoisky, and proving anything to the average citizen is impossible.
Numerous comments posted in recent months confirm that PrivatBank, having received the largest share of refinancing, has not improved its customer service. Meanwhile, bank employees are trying various ways to deceive clients, exploiting their financial illiteracy. For example:
"I'll tell you about the bank's disregard for and unlawful treatment of its clients. On September 22 (of this year), I went to the bank branch at 7 Gnata Yury Street in Kyiv to convert my hryvnia deposit to a dollar denominated account while retaining accrued interest (a service included in my deposit plan). I was warned that the conversion would occur in stages—the daily conversion limit was 15,000 UAH. I submitted a request and was told to call back the next day to confirm the start of the conversion. When I called, they told me they couldn't perform the conversion, citing NBU Resolution No. 591 of September 22, which, I was told, reduced the limit to 3000 UAH and banned deposit conversions.
But the ban decree SAYS NOTHING.
Moreover, when I called the General Department of Banking Supervision of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the Currency Department of the NBU, I was assured that the 3,000 UAH limit ONLY applies to the daily sale of foreign currency in cash to individuals. The conversion limit has not been changed!!! When I spoke to the branch manager, I was told the same nonsense again—referring to Resolution 591 and talking about a ban.
The question arises: so, where is the money the bank received for refinancing?
Meanwhile, PrivatBank has approached the NBU with a request for new refinancing in the amount of UAH 10 billion. There are doubts that this money will be used for its intended purpose. Judging by the analytical note (see below) prepared for the head of the NBU, PrivatBank's situation is not looking good.
Today, social media, forums, and other resources are filled with "denials" regarding the possible bankruptcy of PrivatBank. Users write that this is the "machinations of Kolomoisky's enemies." However, the responses suggest otherwise. Moreover, these are real people writing these denials, as only those who have dealt with PrivatBank know such details. It's pure fraud and deception. Indeed, why look far: former NBU Governor Stepan Kubiv, who allocated funds for Kolomoisky's refinancing, is currently on the run, accused of abuse of office in refinancing banks. Having received a substantial kickback for not interfering with bankers' speculation on the currency market, Kubiv left Ukraine. Further arguments are unnecessary.
Special correspondent
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!